Helping an Enemy
by JasonMorganfan87
Summary: Sequel to 'The Importance of Respect' and 'Anything for a friend'. Tim is forced to confron his past one final time when someone from his formal team is involved in a murder. Is he guilty or is there more to the story? And is Tim even willing to save someone who has no respect for him?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS, NCIS: LA, or any of their characters.**

**Helping an Enemy**

Kensi walked into the squad room of NCIS to see Sam and Callen already there. They were bickering as usual.

"Seriously, man, you gotta get out more often. You lead the most boring life in the world," Sam said.

"I hunt terrorists for a living. How the hell can my life be boring?" Callen asked.

"That doesn't count, it's work. I'm talking about personally. All you do when you leave here is go that big old house and practice Russian all night," Sam said.

"What are you? My mother?" Callen asked dryly.

"Actually, I think he's your wife. Seriously, the two of you should just make it official. You certainly act like an old married couple," Kensi said as she sat down next to Callen.

"I don't think Sam's current wife would like that very much," Callen joked.

"Plus, you're not my type," Sam retorted.

"Hey, anyone here from Tim? He's usually here by now," Callen said. Tim sometimes made it there before him and Sam. Actually most of the time he made it there before them. Talk about dedicated.

"I talked to him about an hour ago. His sister showed up unexpectedly last night for a visit. He already called Hetty. He won't be in today," Kensi said.

"Lucky him. I hear Granger's here today," Callen said. None of them liked Deputy Director Granger. He grated on all of their nerves like a bad cavity.

"Hetty let him take the day off? What happened to no vacation ever again?" Sam asked. That had been what Hetty had told him when they all came back from Iran after taking down Kort.

Kensi laughed. "Apparently she made him put Sarah on the phone.

They all laughed at that. "Yeah, that's Hetty for you," Callen said.

Soon they all heard the familiar whistle from Eric.

They all groaned. "Great, we're a man down and we have a case," Sam said before they all stood up and headed for the stairs.

"We're a man down?" Eric asked surprised.

"Tim's out sick," Kensi said as them walked past him and into Ops. Nell and Granger were in there waiting.

"So what's up?" Callen asked.

"Eric," Granger said.

Eric walked passed them to the big screen and put up footage. It was a park where a man with a shaved head lay dead on the ground. Another man with dark brown hair stood over him. His face wasn't visible though. "LAPD got the footage this morning.

"Who's the dead guy?" Sam asked.

"We don't know. We're still trying to find that out. LAPD didn't find any ID on him," Eric told them.

"Then why do we have this case? We don't even know this guy's name, so how do we know he's Navy?" Kensi asked confused.

Granger cleared his throat. "We don't. However, whether he is or whether he isn't Navy doesn't matter. The connection to NCIS comes from him," he said as he pointed to the man standing over the body.

"We don't know who he is either. We can't see his face," Callen said.

"Not from this angle. Eric," Granger prompted again.

Eric used his little remote to change the angle so that they could get a look at their suspects face.

Callen's, Sam's, and Kensi's mouths all dropped in shock when they saw the man's face. "Oh my God. Is that who I think it is?" Kensi asked.

"It sure looks like it," Callen said.

"I aint forgetting that face anytime soon. Mostly because I'm still irritated I didn't get to punch it," Sam said with a bit of irritation in his voice.

"You three know this man?" Granger asked with narrowed eyes.

"We've met him once. We don't know him that well though," Kensi said.

"And we don't want to. He's a jackass," Sam said.

"Tim knows him better than we do," Eric said.

"Then get him in here," Granger ordered.

"He took a personal day. His sister's In from Washington. And he sure won't like being taken away from her for this ass," Kensi said.

"I don't care. If he knows about this guy, he needs to get his ass in here. All I know about him is his name and that he's an NCIS agent. And with the director on personal leave, McGee's the only who can tell us anything that's not already in this man's file," Granger said.

A flash of sadness hit everyone when Vance was mentioned. Everyone now knew that Vance had recently suffered a personal tragedy. His wife was murdered in his home a few weeks earlier and he was taking time off.

"I'll call him," Kensi said before heading out of the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim was not happy. This was the first time he'd actually seen his sister since he left DC. He'd spoken to her on the phone often, but despite the fact that he'd gone back to Washington DC twice, he hadn't gotten to see her. Now when he finally does get to see her and manages to get the day off, he got called in. This had better be a serious emergency.

When he got to the squad room, he found Kensi waiting for him. "This better be good, Kensi. I don't get to see my sister very often."

"Sorry. We tried to keep you out of it, but Granger insisted," Kensi said apologetically.

Tim sighed unhappily. "What do we got?"

"Come on," Kensi said before leading the way up the stairs and into Ops. Everyone was waiting for them when they got there.

"Alright, What's so important that you had to drag me down here?" Tim asked.

"I don't know. Maybe your job, Agent McGee," Granger asked gruffly.

Tim glared at the man. "Deputy Director, I don't take time off very often. My last vacation was spent taking down a rogue CIA agent. So forgive me for not being happy about having my day off interrupted."

"Tim, we caught a case. An NCIS agent is the lead suspect in a murder. Show him, Eric," Callen said.

Eric immediately put up the footage.

Tim gaped in shock when he got a look at the scene. He knew both of these men, but he knew the suspect very well. "You've gotta be kidding me. Tony freaking DiNozzo."


	2. Chapter 2

Tim was shocked and a bit irritated to see Tony on the screen. Just when he thought the man was out of his life for good, he pops up at the most inopportune time.

"I take it you know this man, Agent McGee," Granger said.

"Yeah, I know him. Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. He worked for Baltimore PD for a while and then joined NCIS when…"

"If I wanted to hear what's in his file, I would read it myself. I wanna know what _you _know about him. He's your friend after all," Granger said.

"When'd I say he was my friend? I said I knew him, I didn't say we were friends," Tim said tightly. There was a time when he tried to think of himself as Tony's friend, but unfortunately, that friendship didn't go both ways, so he finally let it go.

"But you know him well? Well enough to assess his personality?" Granger asked.

Tim raised an eyebrow. "You wanna know his personality? He's an ass. An overgrown bully. He gets off on pulling practical jokes on those he considers weaker than him. He attacks other people verbally to make himself feel better."

"Is he capable of murder?" Granger asked.

"Under normal circumstances, I'd say no, but it nothing involving him can be considered normal circumstances," Tim said as he motioned to the dead man Tony was standing over.

"You know the victim too?" Granger asked.

"Okay, I think I speak for all of us when I say that's news to us," Callen said.

"I wouldn't exactly call him a victim. He's far from that. His name is Charles Sterling. We called him Chip. He worked with us for a few months in Washington DC. He actually applied for the job as a way to get to Tony," Tim said. He was surprised to see that Chip was dead. The last he'd heard, the man was still in prison.

"He and DiNozzo had bad blood?" Granger asked.

"Oh, you could say that. He tried to frame Tony for murder," Tim said.

"Why? Not that anybody really needs a reason to hate, DiNozzo, but why?" Kensi asked.

Tim chuckled. "Believe it or not, none of this was actually Tony's fault. No matter how he is personality wise, his work is almost always above reproach."

"I could argue that fact with the last case we worked with him," Sam said.

"I said 'almost," Tim said with a smirk. "Anyway, the thing with Sterling was above reproach. It started when Tony was in Baltimore. He was investigating a case and there was a problem with the lab work. Tony went after the lab tech and then the lab tech sued the lab itself when his life was upended. The lab belonged to Sterling. It was subsequently shut down."

"And Sterling blamed DiNozzo," Granger guessed.

"Yeah. So he set Tony up. Actually, he set it up pretty well. He made it so that even if Tony was exonerated, the man who sued him would be implicated as the one to frame Tony. Unfortunately for him, Abby doesn't give up when she thinks there's more to be told about a case. If kept digging until uncovered his involvement. He then tried to attack her with a knife, but she managed to get the upper hand," Tim explained.

"So did Sterling actually kill this person?" Kensi asked.

"No. It turned out there was no actually murder. See, all we found was a pair of severed legs and forensic evidence that led to Tony. It turned out they belonged to a Jane Doe already in the morgue," Tim said.

Sam's face turned to that of disgust. "Man, are you saying this dude actually mutilated a corpse to set someone up? That aint right,"

"Okay, if he did all that and attacked an NCIS employee, how did he get out of prison to be murdered?" Granger asked.

"That's a good question. The last I heard Sterling was in prison for the long hall," Tim said.

"Could Sterling have pulled it off again? Could he be trying to set DiNozzo up from beyond the grave?" Kensi asked.

Tim shook his head. "I seriously doubt it. Sterling was twisted obviously, but I don't think he was so far gone that he would've killed himself just to get one over on Tony."

"Could DiNozzo have done it?" Granger asked. It was clear he was asking Tim personally.

"Depends on the circumstances. I doubt he would do it just over the frame-up. It wouldn't be the first time Tony was framed. The most successful, yes, but not the first. If Tony did kill Sterling, there has to be another reason."

"Well, either way, he's our prime suspect. We have to find him," Callen said.

Just then Hetty walked in. "I just got off the phone with the assistant director. Apparently Agent DiNozzo went MIA three weeks ago."

"Tony went off the grid for three weeks? No way that's a coincidence," Tim said.

"Alright, we need to retrace his steps. Tim, you and Kensi should head to DC and talk to his coworkers. See what they know," Callen said.

"There's no reason for a road trip, Agent Callen. We can have agents in DC track his movements," Granger said.

"They won't be able to keep it under wraps though," Tim said.

"Why would they need to?" Granger asked.

Tim and Callen looked at each other and then spoke in unison. "Gibbs."

"If Gibbs gets wind of Tony being a suspect in a murder investigation, he will interfere," Tim said. No matter how much Gibbs claimed to have changed, he hadn't changed that much. It didn't matter that he wasn't with NCIS anymore, he would still try to protect Tony. Actually, his civilian status would make it easier because he wouldn't have to contend with NCIS regulations.

"If he interferes, we'll arrest him," Granger said gruffly. He wasn't a big fan of the former team leader either. He couldn't stand how the man would just ignore all the rules and get away with it.

"By then, the interference will be too significant. Trust me," Tim said. Gibbs was good at keeping a low profile. That was partially why he'd gone to Gibbs when Callen was in trouble.

"He's right. We need to keep this low key as long as possible. You two go and try to keep this quiet," Hetty said.

Tim and Kensi nodded and headed out the door.

"Nell, you and Eric try to find out what happened with Sterling. How he got out of prison and what brought him to LA," Callen said.

"On it," Nell said.

"Sam, you and I will check out the crime scene," Callen said before leading the way towards the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam and Callen arrived at the crime scene an hour later. Sam parked his car and they both got out. "So how bad do you think the damage will be?" Sam asked.

"He wouldn't be the first agent to go rogue. NCIS will be fine," Callen said. Of course he knew Sam wasn't talking about NCIS.

"You know that aint what I mean," Sam said.

"I don't know how Tim's gonna deal with it. He's moved on from everything for the most part. I'm sure there's still some anger there, but he doesn't let it get to him anymore. He seems to have just said goodbye to that part of his life. But I think if DiNozzo ends up being guilty, it will affect him," Callen said. No matter how much Tim disliked DiNozzo, the fact of the matter was they were coworkers. Finding out that someone you worked with could kill in cold blood would affect you whether you liked the person or not.

"Man, this sucks. Just when he thinks he's free of these people for good, something always comes along to pull him back in," Sam said, feeling badly for his friend.

"Hmm," Callen mumbled as they crossed the yellow tape. There was a detective they got there. Callen pulled out his badge and showed it to him. "NCIS."

"Right. They said you taking over the case," the detective said sounding put out by it.

"What can you tell us?" Callen asked.

"Well, we sent you the footage already. We also found a round a few feet away from where the body was found," he said as he handed over a plastic bag with the round inside. "The rest will have to wait for the autopsy, but I'm pretty sure that you'll find he was shot to death."

Sam and Callen walked a few feet away from the detective. Callen held up the bag. "Look familiar."

It definitely did. It looked like every round they'd ever fired off with their service weapons. "NCIS isn't the only ones with that type of gun," Sam said. He really hoped that the case. He didn't like the idea of any NCIS agent being a murderer, even if it was an ass like DiNozzo.

"Yeah, maybe," Callen said before his phone began to ring. He took it out and saw that it was Nell. He immediately put it on speaker so Sam could hear too. "What do you got, Nell?"

"_Charles Sterling escaped from prison three weeks ago,"_ Nell said.

"How?" Sam asked.

"_He was apparently escorted by a federal agent to supposedly help with a case,"_ she said.

"Who?" Callen asked. He already knew the answer though.

Nell was quiet for a few moments before answering. _"Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo."_

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim and Kensi made it to DC about five hours after leaving. They dropped Sarah off at home before going to NCIS. Tim figured there was no point of his sister staying in LA another day, so they just took her with them.

"I like your sister, Tim. She's so sweet," Kensi said as they walked towards the entrance.

Tim snorted. "Don't let her fool you. She can be pure evil when she wants to be."

Kensi laughed. "So how do you wanna handle this?" She figured they should do things his way since he knew everyone there much better than she did. He would know how to be discreet.

Tim sighed. "We should talk to Tony's boss and I also wanna talk to Ducky. He sees more than anyone else. Hopefully we can avoid Abby. If she finds out, all bets are off. She'll go straight to Gibbs. If she hasn't already."

"How could she? She doesn't know," Kensi said. No one knew that DiNozzo was a suspect except for their team and Granger.

"She doesn't know about Sterling's murder, but she does know Tony's missing. He's been gone for three weeks. There's a good chance she's already gone to Gibbs about. Let's just hope that if she did, he hasn't found out anything," Tim said as he reached for the door.

Kensi grabbed him by the arm to stop him.

Tim sighed when he got a look at his partner's face. He knew that look well. Kensi was about to get into the personal part of this case. "Don't, Kensi. I'm fine."

"Are you sure about that? Look, I know he's an ass, you were a part of the same team," Kensi said.

"No, we weren't. It was a team of three. I just happened to sit next to them and do their grunt work," Tim said. Over time, the bitterness had gone away for the most part. He'd even managed to forgive Ziva and Gibbs. But forgiving and forgetting were two different things.

"Still, you knew him. You worked with him every day. Even though you dislike him, it has to affect you to know he could be a murderer," Kensi said.

"I can't and I won't get personally involved. It's just another case. If Tony's innocent, I'll prove it, but if he's guilty, I'll do what I have to, to make sure he's prosecuted and convicted," Tim said firmly. And that was how it had to be. He could let old feelings, good or bad, get in the way of his job. He would not let Tony DiNozzo get under jeopardize the life he'd built for himself. He would do his job to the best of his ability and then he would move on. It was as simple as that.

"So you wanna pretend like you don't know him? Like this is just any other suspect?" Kensi asked.

"Yes," he said. He would love that. It was the best way for him to remain objective.

"Okay, we can do that. I don't know how well it's going to work, but I'll do whatever you want." Kensi. Actually she knew for a fact this wasn't going to work. Tim might hate DiNozzo's guts, but he still knew him, and his feelings were going to end up getting in the way one way or another. But she would play it his way and just be there for him when things finally hit him..

"Great. Let's go inside," he said before opening the door and leading the way.


	4. Chapter 4

Tim and Kensi walked through the bullpen of NCIS. It hadn't changed much from the way Tm remembered it. The only real difference was the people who sat where he and his former coworkers.

As Tim led the way towards his old working space, a bald, middle-aged man approached them. "Can I help you folks?"

"Yeah, Agents Blye and McGee. We're with Office of Special Projects," Kensi introduced.

"Special Agent Nickles. What can I do for OSP this afternoon?" NIckles asked politely.

"Can we speak somewhere more private? This is a bit sensitive," Tim said. The last thing they needed was someone overhearing and spreading it around to the whole building.

"Sure. Follow me," Nickles said before leading the way down the hall to the conference room. Once they were all inside, he closed the door. "So what's up?"

"We're here about Special Agent DiNozzo. He's yours, correct?" Kensi asked.

"He was," Nickles said.

"Was?"

"DiNozzo up and disappeared three weeks ago without so much as a word. I don't know about you, but I consider that as good as quitting. And if he tries to come back, he's going to be mighty disappointed. I've tolerated about as much from DiNozzo as I'm going to. He's acted like nothing but an overgrown high school punk since the day I met him. This is the last straw."

"Believe me, I know the feeling," Tim said. He too had come to that point where he would take no more. The only difference was that he'd bared the brunt of it instead of just witnessing it. "Did you investigate his disappearance at all? I mean, did you think that maybe something might have been off."

"I sent a couple agents to his place. There was no sign of a struggle and a few of his neighbors saw him leave with luggage. It was clear he went on his own. After that was apparent, it was no longer my problem. I was his boss, not his father," Nickles said.

"And he wasn't acting different at all before he left?" Tim asked.

"No, he was same obnoxious, sanctimonious jackass he was before. Now will one of you tell me what this is about? What do you want with DiNozzo?" Nickles said.

"His name just came up in our investigation and we wanted to clear it up," Kensi said vaguely.

"Well, when you find him, you can tell him his career is over," Nickles said.

Tim nodded and then he and Kensi left the room. Tim's phone began to ring as soon as they made it outside. He looked and saw that it was Callen. He thought about putting it on speaker, but decided against it with the chance of someone interrupting.

He pressed the button to talk and put it up to his ear. "Hey, Callen, what's up?" he asked as they stopped outside the elevator

"_Hey. So you want the bad news or… Well, there's really just the bad news," _Callen said.

Tim sucked in a nervous breath as he and Kensi entered the elevator. He pressed the button for the morgue. "What is it?"

"_Sterling escaped from prison three weeks ago… with DiNozzo's help," _Cullen told him.

Tim sighed. "Are you sure?"

"_Pretty sure. The prison faxed us a copy of his signature when he signed Sterling out as an agent and it matched his signature on file. We're waiting for the security footage of him there, but I doubt we'll be surprised,"_ Callen explained.

"Alright. We haven't found anything yet. I'm about to go talk to Ducky and then we'll head to Tony's apartment to see if we can find anything," Tim told him.

"_Okay," _Callen said before hanging up.

"What's up?" Kensi asked as they stepped in the elevator

Tim sighed and hit the button to take them Autopsy. He waited until the doors closed to speak. "Well, Nickles was right. Tony's job is gone. His freedom might be too, whether he killed Sterling or not."

"What happened?" Kensi asked curiously.

"Tony helped Sterling escape," Tim told her.

"Why would he help the man who set him up for murder escape?" Kensi asked.

The doors opened before Tim could answer. "I don't know, but if he killed him, that makes it look calculated. Any way you look at it, Tony's in serious trouble. Listen, do you mind if I do this alone? I don't want this to turn into an NCIS thing, not with Ducky, even though that's what it is."

"Yeah, no problem. I'll meet you at the car," Kensi told him.

Tim smiled gratefully and stepped of the elevator. He immediately walked into autopsy to see Ducky putting tools away.

Ducky looked up when he heard someone come in. He smiled when he saw who it was. "Timothy!"

Tim immediately walked towards the medical examiner and shook his hand. "Hey, Ducky, it's good to see you."

"You too, my boy. What brings you here though? I'm assuming it's not social. I find it hard to believe you'd walk into this building willingly," Ducky said.

Tim chuckled. "You'd be right, though it is really good to see you. I have to find Tony, Ducky."

Ducky's smile disappeared. "I guess Abigail was correct when she said that Anthony's disappearance was as she says, hinky."

"Ducky, I need this conversation to stay between us. I can't have Abby finding out. She'll tell Gibbs and that's all we need right now," Tim said.

"You have my word," Ducky promised.

"I'm investigating Tony for murder," Tim said candidly.

Ducky's eyebrows rose so high they could literally be in the air. "Murder? You think Anthony killed someone? Timothy, I know how much you dislike Anthony, but…"

"This isn't personal, Ducky," Tim assured him.

"No, of course not. I didn't mean to insinuate that it was. But do you really think Tony could kill someone?" Ducky asked.

"I don't know, Ducky. There's evidence to support that he did it, and it seems to be piling up by the second. All I know is that I need to do my job and that means finding out what happened one way or another," Tim said.

"What can I do?" Ducky asked.

"When was the last time you saw Tony?" Tim asked.

"The day before he disappeared. It was a few weeks ago," Ducky said.

"Was he acting differently at all?" Tim asked. They'd asked Nickles the same question, but Tim figured he might have better luck with Ducky.

"Well, now that you mention it, a little bit. He seemed to be very preoccupied during that final week and I saw him on the phone a couple of times looking distressed," Ducky told him.

"Did you ask him about it?" Tim asked.

"Yes, but he waved my concerns off. He even snapped at me once. I didn't know what was going on with him, but I never suspected it was something that could get him accused of murder," Ducky sad.

"Okay, thanks, Ducky," Tim said before going to leave.

"Timothy. I know that you have no love lost for Anthony, but please try to keep an open mind. No matter what you may think of him, you must know he's not a murderer," Ducky said.

"Anybody's capable of anything under the right circumstances. But for what it's worth, I hope you're right. I'll try to see you again before I leave, Ducky," Tim said before continuing towards the elevator.


	5. Chapter 5

"So how'd he sound when you talked to him?" Sam asked Callen as they sat at their desks. He was obviously asking about Tim. He'd already left to deal with a family problem when G made the call to Tim and Kensi, so he didn't get the chance to ask until now.

Callen paused for a minute. "He didn't sound much different than he usually does. I think right now he's in the denial phase. He thinks he can treat this like any other case."

"Wishful thinking," Sam said. Anyone who knew Tim knew that one way or the other, he was not going to be able to keep his personal feelings at bay for long.

"Hmm," Callen responded.

"So what do you think? You think he's guilty?" Sam asked.

"I don't know him well enough to make that judgment. I know him well enough to know innocent or guilty, he's an ass," Callen said.

Sam snorted. "I think anyone who's ever met him knows him well enough to know that. Even if I didn't already know that, I would've two seconds after meeting him. But he never struck me as a murderer."

"People are capable of anything when pushed to their limits. This is the guy that set him up for a crime he didn't commit. I mean, I hate DiNozzo, but I can understand him wanting to smash Sterling's head in for that. Still, I hope he didn't do it," Callen said. He didn't care for DiNozzo's sake. He cared for Tim's sake and for the fact that DiNozzo was an NCIS agent. He didn't like the thought of one of their own committing murder.

"I hope you don't put too much stock in wishes," a familiar voice said from behind them.

They both turned to see Granger heading their way. "Why?" Sam asked.

"Ballistics just came back. The bullet they pulled out of Sterling's chest was a match for Agent DiNozzo's service weapon. It's official. When we find DiNozzo, we're charging him with murder," Granger said before heading for Hetty's office.

Sam sighed. "You wanna call Tim or should I?"

Xxxxxxxxxx

Tim and Kensi walked into Tony's apartment the next morning. It was late after they left NCIS the night before, so they decided to wait until morning.

They both immediately took out their guns. The place looked like it had been completely ransacked.

The two agents started looking around for intruders. Tim checked the bedroom and bathroom. "Clear."

"Clear," Kensi echoed after checking the kitchen and living room.

They both holstered their weapons. "There's no sign of anyone. You think DiNozzo could've left it like this. I mean, he is a guy and it's not so bad that it definitely means it had to be an intruder."

"I'll try not to take offense to the 'guy' comment," Tim said jokingly. "And I doubt Tony did this. Nickles said he sent agents here and found nothing out of the ordinary. This would've at least had them a little worried, which means it wasn't like this three weeks ago."

"Well, if his apartment was ransacked, it means there is someone else involved in all this," Kensi said optimistically. Despite his impassive attitude, she knew that Tim did not want DiNozzo to be guilty. This was her way of giving him hope.

"Yeah, maybe," Tim said as he began looking around. He moved a few scattered things off the table in the dining room. He didn't find much though. Just some trash and some post-its with women's numbers.

Kensi went over to the phone and hit the button on the answering machine. She heard about a dozen messages from Nickles demanding DiNozzo come into work and a few frantic ones from Abby wondering where he was and if he was in trouble. There was nothing of importance to their case though.

Soon, both agents heard the lock being turned on the front door. They both took their guns out once more and assumed the position. When the door opened and they saw who it was, they sighed and pointed their guns to the floor. "Gibbs," Tim said.

"McGee? What are you doing here?" Gibbs asked.

"I could ask you the same question. We're federal agents. You're breaking and entering," Tim said as he and Kensi both holstered their weapons again.

Gibbs stepped further inside and closed the door. "I'm looking for Tony. Abby came by. She's frantic. Said Tony's been missing for weeks and no one was doing anything about it."

Tim cringed. He was afraid Abby had gone to Gibbs and it looked like he was right. Now he had to try to come up with a reason they were there that didn't involve the murder Tony might have committed. Actually, he technically didn't have to say anything, but he knew that would just have Gibbs digging more. "Well, as you can see, that's not the case."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You're investigating Tony's disappearance? I would think OSP would have better things to do than look for an MIA agent."

"Yeah, well, if only the deputy director would agree with you," Tim said. When you don't know what to do, blame Granger. That was always his motto, Sam's too.

Gibbs seemed to buy it. He looked around the apartment. "Well, I guess Abby wasn't lying when she said she tore the place apart."

"Abby did this?" Tim asked. Well, there went the idea that there was a third party involved. He supposed there still could be, but the messed up apartment was no longer an indicator of that.

"Yeah, she said she got tired of waiting for someone else to do something," Gibbs said.

Tim sighed. Needless to say he was not happy. If anything had happened here, it was going to be harder for them to determine thanks to Abby. "Great, so the place is contaminated."

"You sound like you think it's a crime scene," Gibbs said suspiciously.

"Well, we thought it was before you got here. It looks like it's been ransacked," Kensi said.

"Technically, it has," Tim said before addressing Gibbs. "Did Abby find anything?"

"No. She didn't find anything," Gibbs said.

Tim frowned suspiciously. "Then why are you here?"

"Double check," Gibbs said simply.

Tim knew Gibbs was lying to him. He didn't know if it was true about Abby finding nothing, but he knew Gibbs knew something he wasn't telling them. He didn't just come here to double check.

Tim was about to call him on the lie when his phone started ringing. He stared at Gibbs for a minute before answering it. "Yeah."

"_Hey, it's Callen. Listen, things just got worse,"_ Callen said from the other line.

"You've gotta be kidding me. How much worse can it get?**" **Tim asked.

"_The bullet that killed Sterling came from DiNozzo's weapon," _Callen said.

Apparently it could get much worse. "Dammit!"

"_Yeah. When we find DiNozzo, we're arresting him," _Callen said.

Tim took a deep breath and forced any personal feelings he might have away. This was just another case. He had to keep telling himself that. He couldn't and wouldn't allow the past to interfere with his job. He wouldn't give Tony the satisfaction. "Alright, what do you want me to do?"

"_Find DiNozzo and bring him back. I think it's clear he's not going to stay in LA. He'll probably head back. Let's hope so anyway,"_ Callen said.

"Yeah, okay," Tim said before hanging up and then looking at Gibbs. "Where's Abby?"

"Why?" Gibbs asked sarcastically.

"I wanna talk to her," Tim said as if it should be obvious.

"She doesn't know anything. I told you that," Gibbs said.

"But you do. You think we don't know a lie when we hear it?" Kensi asked.

"I don't know what to tell you," Gibbs said, unfazed by the accusation.

"Well, I know what to tell you. Don't involve yourself in our investigation, Gibbs. I will arrest you if you do. Don't think I won't," Tim said before walking out the door with Kensi trailing close behind.


	6. Chapter 6

Kensi followed Tim as he stormed out of the apartment building towards their rental. She finally caught up with him when he reached the car. "Tim, wait. Hey, wait," she said as she grabbed his arm.

Tim finally turned to face his partner. "What?"

"Are you okay?" Kensi asked. It wasn't often she saw her partner this volatile. In fact, most of the times she did coincided with dealings with his former team. This time seemed different though. Tim didn't seem to get really anger until after he got off the phone with whom she presumed to be Callen. He was irritated before then, sure, but not overly angry.

"I am so tired of their damn games. They think they can get away with anything they want! They think that somehow they're immune to the rules the rest of us have follow!" Tim seethed. Yes, it was true that they didn't always follow the rules either, but unlike Gibbs and his fellows, they usually suffered the consequences for it. Even taking on the CIA had consequences. It resulted in him being framed for terrorism.

"Okay, I get it, you're pissed. And you're right, it is kind of maddening. But something tells me something else is going on too," Kensi said. She completely agreed with her partner's assessment, and with what he said to Gibbs, but she knew something else was going on and she was worried about him.

Tim sighed and calmed down a little. "He did it, Kensi."

Kensi didn't need further elaboration. She knew Tim was talking about DiNozzo. "Are you sure?"

Tim nodded. "They tied his service weapon to the murder."

Kensi sighed. "Tim, I'm sorry. I know that this has to be affecting you."

"No, I'm pissed! It's just another example. Another example of these people thinking they can do whatever the hell they want! He thinks he can kill a man and walk away like it's nothing!" Tim yelled. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised that Tony thought that. He always thought he could do whatever the hell he wanted. Having Gibbs for a boss for so long probably didn't help that mentality.

Kensi knew that wasn't the only reason he was so angry. She knew that it upset him to think that someone he once thought could be a friend could commit murder. However, she didn't want her head bitten off, so she decided not to mention that out loud. "I think he know he can't get away with it. That's why he's in the wind."

"Well, he won't be for long. We have to find him," Tim said as his temper began to die down a bit. He was still quite angry, but he was pushing it aside. He told himself that he wouldn't past relations affect this case and he meant it.

"What did Callen say? What does he want us to do?" Kensi asked.

"He thinks Tony will come back this way. Maybe he already has. Gibbs was hiding something in there. He know something, and maybe Abby too. He's been in contact with one of them, I'm sure of it," Tim said.

"Hence your warning in there," Kensi said.

"And I meant every word of it," Tim said firmly. If he found out that Gibbs was harboring Tony or somehow circumvented their investigation in some other way, he would arrest him, same with Abby.

"You really think they know what's going on? You think they'd harbor him if they knew he killed a man?" Kensi asked.

"Abby would. She'd make some excuse for him and try to protect him. And he'd let her," Tim said irritably. He wasn't sure who he'd be more irritated with if that were the case. Abby for harboring a fugitive or Tony for being selfish enough to let her. "As for Gibbs, I'm not sure what he'd do if he thought Tony was guilty. But if he didn't, you can bet he'd hide him until he could find proof of his innocence."

"So who are we on next? Gibbs or Abby?" Kensi asked. It was best that Tim run this one. He knew all the players involved much better than she did.

"Abby. Gibbs isn't going to give anything away right now, and while Abby will try to stay quiet, it isn't in her nature. She's a worse liar than I used to be. She'll let something slip without even trying," Tim said.

"Okay, so we head for her next. Where would she go? She wouldn't go home, would she?" Kensi asked.

"Even if she would, Gibbs wouldn't let her. If he thought something was going on, he'd insist she stay with him," he explained.

Kensi rolled her eyes. "Seriously, does this guy even know how to treat the people he worked with like adults?"

"Only when he sets impossible tasks for them to follow," Tim retorted.

"So how do we get to Abby if she's staying with Gibbs? I doubt he's going to let us in to talk to her, or even admit she's there," Kensi said.

"No, he'll definitely circumvent us. No matter how much he may have changed, one thing will always remain the same. He will always protect Abby above all others," Tim said.

"Maybe we can get to her before he gets back. It might not get us long, but maybe a few moments," Kensi said. Gibbs was still in DiNozzo's apartment, so they had a chance.

"No, it's too late for that. Gibbs is probably halfway there already," Tim said.

"What are you talking about? He's in DiNozzo's apartment," Kensi said.

"No. He would've left out the back the minute he left. He knows I wanna talk to Abby and he knows how well I know him. He knows how well I know him. He knows I'll have figured out that she's with him and he'll try to stop me," Tim said.

"We could arrest her. She contaminated a crime scene. Gibbs admitted that fact just a few minutes ago," Kensi said.

"We'd have to get to her to arrest her though. Gibbs isn't going to let us in and we don't have probable cause to search his house. Besides, Gibbs will deny that he said that. It'll be our word against his and his word means as much as ours within NCIS," Tim said.

"Okay, I have one more suggestion, but I don't think you're going to like it," Kensi said. Actually, she was pretty sure he was going to hate this idea.

"Is there anything about this you think I do like?" Tim asked.

Kensi chuckled. "Okay point taken. I think you should appeal to Gibbs. Tell him you're trying to help DiNozzo. Apologize for threatening him if you must."

"You're right, I hate it," Tim said. The idea of groveling to Gibbs made him sick. He'd done that for far too long and he wasn't remotely interested in going back to it.

"Yeah, I know, it's sickening, but I think it's our best bet to find out what he knows and get to Abby. If he thinks you're on the same side, he might let his guard down," Kensi said.

"Great, so you want me to go back to being Gibbs' little puppy," Tim said irritably.

"I want you to do what you do best. Go undercover. Go undercover as someone trying to help an old friend. You don't have to totally succumb to him. Just show concern for DiNozzo. It's the best way, Tim. Threats obviously didn't work," Kensi said.

"It wasn't a threat," Tim said. A threat implied that he wouldn't follow through. He had every intention of following through.

"Just try it. We've got nothing left to lose," Kensi told him.

"Except my dignity. Fine, but I swear, if he still holds out on me, I _will_ arrest him," Tim vowed before getting into the driver's seat of the car. He waited for Kensi to get in as well before pulling out of the parking lot.


	7. Chapter 7

Tim made his way to Gibbs' front door. When got there, he paused for a second to will himself to do this. He hated himself for doing it. It wasn't the lying he had a problem with. Gibbs had done worse to him in the past. It was allowing himself to be reduced to this once more. To him it was the same as groveling at Gibbs' feet, something he swore to never do again. But Kensi was right. This was the best way to go. Brute force wouldn't work, not with Gibbs. This was the only way to find Tony. His job came first.

Tim took a deep breath and tried the door. He found that it was locked. Well, if he didn't know Gibbs was hiding Abby before, he definitely knew now. Gibbs _never_ locked his door. It was a common fact that everyone who knew Gibbs knew. If he locked it, t meant he was trying to hide someone or something.

He knocked on the door and patiently waited for it to be opened. He didn't have to wait long. Gibbs opened the door about a minute later.

"McGee. Something you forgot to say before?" Gibbs asked.

"Can we talk?" Tim asked in an impassive voice.

Gibbs hesitated for a minute and then walked outside and closed the door.

Tim wasn't surprised that Gibbs didn't let him in the house, but it was further evidence to his theory.

"Where's your partner?" Gibbs asked.

"I asked her to give me some space to let me speak to you alone," Tim said.

"So speak," Gibbs said with a bit of authority in his voice.

Tim felt his ire rise. For a second, it seemed like Gibbs was ordering him again. It left him with the urge to remind Gibbs that he didn't order him around anymore, but he quashed it. "Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I was angry."

Gibbs just blinked in response.

"I didn't ask to have this crap dumped on my lap, okay? I thought I was done with all of you," Tim said. He decided to include some truth into the conversation. If he acted like he was suddenly all happy to be back in his orbit, Gibbs would see right through him. "But it was my responsibility to keep a cool head."

Gibbs still didn't speak and he kept his face as blank as possible.

"It's just that this isn't easy. I thought that I was past the point of caring about any of you, but that changed when this case came to us. I wanted to help Tony. I still do, but I need your help for that. Please, help me help him," Tim pleaded. He truly hated himself right now. He knew exactly how pathetic he sounded because he'd sounded that way before, for years in fact. It made him sick to revert to that.

"Wow. This must be hard for you," Gibbs finally spoke.

"It is," Tim said. It seemed that his plan was working. He could take solace in that at least.

"No, I mean this," Gibbs said as he motioned back and forth between Tim and himself. "It's gotta be killing you to be here talking to me like this. You're convincing though. I'll give you that. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that every word that just came out of your mouth was one hundred percent truth. It's amazing how Callen transformed you into the perfect liar in two short years. And if I didn't know for a fact that you hated my guts and Tony's, I'd believe what you're saying."

"I don't hate you," Tim said. He didn't. He was angry and bitter in the past and a part of him was still angry and always would be, but he didn't hate either of them. He would never allow himself to feel that emotion towards them. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction.

"Alright, fine, maybe hate is too strong a word. But you sure as hell resent us. Do you deny that," Gibbs asked.

"No," Tim said after a minute. He couldn't deny that even if he wanted to. He was a good liar, but even he wasn't that good. "But just because I recent you both doesn't mean I can't have compassion."

"Oh, I'm sure you do have compassion, but I also think you're trying to work me. You're not here for Tony. You're here for NCIS," Gibbs said.

"Or maybe NCIS is here for Tony. He's a missing agent that we are just trying to bring home," Tim said.

"Oh, don't give me that crap. You're not trying to bring Tony home. You're trying to put him in a cell. Now I don't know exactly what it is you think Tony has done, nor do I expect you to tell me, but I know there's something. Deputy Director Granger would not dispatch one of the most elite units in NCIS for that purpose alone, especially since Tony has been gone for nearly a month already and no one cared until now," Gibbs said a bit angrily. He was annoyed that no one had searched for Tony.

Tim shook his head in disbelief. He knew that tone. Gibbs was pissed that no one had looked for Tony until they knew he had committed a crime. "Let me ask you a question, Gibbs. How long would it have taken you to look for me Vance hadn't told you that I was transferred? If I had just disappeared?"

"Oh, don't go there," Gibbs said.

"Why not? It's a fair question, isn't it? You're all pissed that no one looked for Tony when he seemed to leave all on his own, but you would've have cared less if it were me. You would've just labeled me a deserter. Though I guess you did that anyway, didn't you?" Tim asked.

"I screwed up, okay? I get that. But this isn't about you or me. It's about Tony," Gibbs said.

"No, it's about the law," Tim said. He decided to give up trying to trick Gibbs. It obviously wasn't working. "And the law applies to Tony just as much as it applies to everyone else. I am going to find him."

"I don't doubt that," Gibbs said. He knew that McGee would find Tony eventually. He was one of the best agents NCIS had. Gibbs just hoped that he could find out what the hell was going on with Tony and how to fix it before McGee found him. "But don't expect me to help you and don't expect to talk to Abby. It's not gonna happen."

"Who the hell do you think you're dealing with here? The little probie you took onto your team nine and half years ago. I would think you'd no better by now. I _will_ talk to Abby, even if I have to take you down to get to her. You're not going to impede my investigation. If I have to, I'll arrest you both. You may wanna warn her about that," Tim said.

"You threatening her?" Gibbs asked menacingly. If McGee wanted to threaten him, that was one thing, but not Abby.

"No, I don't make threats, I make promises. I will not put up with anymore crap from you people! You don't get to do whatever the hell you want and get away with it. It's time you learn that. I'll be in touch," Tim said before walking away without another word. He meant every word he did say. He was going to show Gibbs he meant business. It was time to bring in the big guns. It was time to involve Granger and Hetty.


	8. Chapter 8

Tim made his way back to the hotel and knocked on the door to Kensi's room.

"Come in," she said from the other end.

Tim walked in and heard Kensi on the phone with someone.

"Yeah, he just walked in," she was saying.

"Is that Callen?" Tim asked.

"Sam," Kensi answered.

Tim held his hand out for the phone, which his partner promptly handed him. He immediately put the phone to his ear. "Sam, put Hetty or Granger on the phone. Whoever's closer."

Kensi cringed. She knew that things could not have gone well with Gibbs. If she hadn't known from his tone, she would've known from the fact that he was willing to talk to Granger without coercion.

"_Man, you actually wanna talk to Granger? You're playing hard ball. What the hell happened?"_ Sam asked on the other end of the line.

"Gibbs happened," Tim said seethed. "He knows something and he's not talking. It's more than that though. I'm trying to get to Abby to talk to her. I know that Gibbs has her at his place and he won't let me near her."

"_Damn, just when I think I can't like the guy any less. Please tell me you explained what will happen if he continues to abstract us," _Sam said.

"A few times. That's why I need to talk to Granger or Hetty. It's time to stop playing games," Tim said firmly. He was going to show Gibbs that he couldn't just do whatever he wanted and get away with it.

"_Alright, Granger just walked in. Hang on," Sam said._

There were some muffled voices followed by a shuffle with the phone. Then Granger's voice could be heard. _"Yes, Agent McGee. What can I do for you?"_

Tim quickly explained the situation with Abby and Gibbs. "He all but admitted that Abby was there and that he wasn't going to let me near her."

"_Arrest him!" _Granger said in a firm and authoritarian voice.

"Believe me, sir, I would like nothing more, but I can't prove that he's impeding the investigation. It's my word against his," Tim said.

Granger was quiet for a second before speaking again. _"You said Gibbs admitted to the lab rat being in DiNozzo's apartment at some point, correct?"_

"Yeah," Tim answered.

"_That's breaking and entering and contamination of a crime scene. I'll get you a warrant," _Granger said.

"Yeah, but again it's just my word against Gibbs'. He'll deny it if asked. And even if we did get a warrant, it's only good if we can get to Abby," Tim said.

"_Even if he does lie, it won't matter by then. You'll have had the chance to talk to her by then. As for Gibbs, Don't worry about that. I'm going to get you a warrant to search his house for her. If he refused to let you inside, arrest him," _Granger said.

"How are you going to do that, sir? We don't really have proof that Abby's there. If we did, I would've already arrested him," Tim said.

"_Let me take care of that,"_ Granger said before cutting the connection.

Tim hung up and then handed Kensi her phone.

"Well?" Kensi asked as she put her phone away.

"He's going to get a warrant for Abby's arrest and for us to search Gibbs' house. I don't exactly know how he's going to pull that off, but he says he will," Tim said.

"And if Gibbs still obstructs us?"

"Then we arrest him too," Tim said simply.

"Are you sure you wanna do that?" Kensi asked.

"I don't owe Gibbs or Abby a damn thing," Tim said firmly.

"Oh, I completely agree with you. I just wanna make sure you're okay with it," Kensi said. She couldn't care less about Gibbs or Abby getting arrested. It was about time they learned they couldn't flaunt the rules. She just didn't want her partner to second guess himself or anything.

"I'll be fine, Kensi. I'll be just fine."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning, Tim and Kensi got the warrants. They immediately went to Gibbs' house. They approached the front door and Tim knocked.

Gibbs opened the door seconds later. "Back for round three?"

"Not at all. There will be no fights. I'm here for Abby and I'm not leaving without her," Tim said as he handed him the arrest warrant.

Gibbs read it and a dark look came over his face. "You would do this? You would really arrest her?"

"Don't try to put this on me, Gibbs. I was perfectly willing to have civil conversation with her but the two of you gave me no choice. I warned you and you chose to ignore me," Tim said without a hint of remorse.

"Well, she's not here," Gibbs lied.

"Well, we'll see about that," Tim said as he took a second piece of paper and handed it to Gibbs. "It's a warrant to search the house for her or Tony.

Gibbs read it and then handed it back to him with a glare. "Screw you. You're not getting in here."

"Yeah, we are, one way or another. Either you let me in or we arrest you and search anyway," Tim told him.

"Don't do this," Gibbs said.

"I've given you your choices, Gibbs. Make one."

"I'm not gonna make this easy for you," Gibbs said. He knew that McGee was right and that he would be taking Abby one way or another, but he just couldn't just let him take her without a fight. He would always feel the need to protect her.

Tim sighed and took out a pair of handcuffs.. He had hoped it wouldn't come down to this, but he would do what he had to do. "Fine. Leroy Jethro Gibbs, you're under arrest for obstruction of justice."


	9. Chapter 9

An hour later, Tim and Kensi sat across from Abby in an interrogation room at Headquarters. Sure enough, they'd found her in the kitchen when they searched the house.

Needless to say, Abby wasn't' very happy. She sat across from them with her arms crossed and glaring like a petulant child.

"Where's Tony, Abby?" Tim asked, completely ignoring her attitude.

Abby didn't answer. She just continued to glare.

"Why did you break into his apartment? What were you looking for?" Tim continued.

Still no answer.

"Did he ask you to go there or did you act on your own?" Tim asked.

Still nothing.

Tim sighed and sat back in his chair. "Okay, I'm going to say this once and only once. You can either answer my questions or you can sit in a holding cell. I can't make you answer my questions, but I can put you in a cell either until you do or until you can get a lawyer here. But let me warn you now that any lawyer is going to tell you to play ball with me."

"You wouldn't," Abby said.

"Yeah? That's what Gibbs thought. Guess where he is right now. I am not playing games here!" Tim said firmly. It was unlucky for Abby that he was all out of patients. She could thank Gibbs for that.

"What happened to you? You were our friend! You're supposed to be on our side! Instead you're here with her trying to destroy us," Abby said as she glared over at Kensi.

Tim pulled his chair out and stood up. He was not going to even dignify that with a response. He would not allow this to become about the past. "Fine, have it your way."

Abby's eyes widened a bit. "Where are you going?"

Tim stopped and glared. "I told you, I'm not playing games. I'll have an agent give you your phone call and then you can sit in a cell until your lawyer arrives."

"You can't do that!" Abby yelled. He couldn't treat her like this. No one treated her like this. She was Gibbs' favorite.

"I can and I will. You broke the law and outside of Team Gibbs, that actually means something! Being Gibbs' favorite is not going to get you anywhere with us!" Tim told her before turning to Kensi. "We're wasting our time. We'll wait for her lawyer."

Kensi nodded and stood up.

"Wait, no!" Abby yelled.

Tim stopped. "You gonna answer our questions?"

"Fine," Abby said through gritted teeth. She would answer there stupid questions to avoid a cell. She would just have to omit things or lie if it was something that could hurt Tony.

Tim and Kensi immediately sat back down. "Why did you break into Tony's apartment?"

"I was trying to find him?" Abby answered.

Tim knew she was lying, but he didn't want to call her on it just yet. "And in doing so committed a crime. You do realize that breaking and entering is a crime, right?"

"Well, if Nickles had done his job and looked for Tony, I wouldn't have had to! Tony wouldn't just disappear like that! Besides, Tony would never press charges against me," Abby said confidently.

"Only one problem with that, Abby. No one knows where Tony is! And did you ever think that by ransacking that apartment, you were disturbing a crime scene. If something bad had happened to Tony in that apartment, you were contaminating any evidence of such. You of all people should know better than that," Tim said. Abby worked with forensic evidence for a living. She knew that if a scene was disturbed, it could contaminate evidence. Another reason he didn't believe her story for why she went in there.

"I knew what I was doing!" Abby yelled.

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of," Tim said.

"You weren't looking for Agent DiNozzo, were you? You were looking for something else. Maybe something for DiNozzo," Kensi said.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't seen Tony," Abby said.

"Then you've heard from him. And if you've heard from him and you don't tell us, that makes you an accessory," Tim said.

"He didn't do it!" Abby yelled.

Tim raised an eyebrow. "He didn't do what?"

"W…whatever you think he did," Abby faltered when she realized her outburst.

"How do you know he didn't do it if you don't even know what he's being accused of?" Kensi asked.

"Where is he Abby?" Tim asked.

"I don't know," Abby lied.

Tim was about to speak when there was a knock on the door. "Yeah," he said.

The door opened and Special Agent Berk walked in. "Sorry to interrupt, Agent McGee, but I have Abby's phone records as you requested."

Abby glared daggers at Berk. "You went through my phone records. How dare you? You're supposed to be one of us!"

Tim reached out and took the offered documents. "Thank you, Agent Berk."

Berk nodded and left the room.

Tim quickly scanned the records until he found what he was looking for. "Huh. So it appears you've been calling yourself since late last night. I'm seeing several calls from your home phone to your cellphone since last night."

Abby shrugged. "A friend was in need of a place to stay. I offered my place."

"Hmm. There are also quite a few calls before that from an unknown number. I wonder who that could be," Tim said sarcastically. "Tell me, Abby, how long have you and Tony been in contact. I heard your voicemails while we were at his place. Was that just a ploy? Have you been in contact with him since he left three weeks ago?"

Abby looked away without answering.

"No, that's okay, you don't have to answer. It doesn't matter at this point," Tim said before getting up and heading for the door.

Kensi got up as well and followed him out. "So he's at her apartment."

"Most likely. She hasn't had a chance to warn him. Luckily for us, she was more worried about being locked up than making a call to him."

"Are you ready for this?" Kensi asked. She knew it couldn't be easy to do what he was about to do. Hell, what he'd already done twice today. Arrest someone he knew.

"I have to be, don't I?" Tim asked as he headed towards the bullpen.


	10. Chapter 10

Gibbs paced the floor of his holding cell anxiously. He couldn't believe this was happening. He was in a jail cell, Abby was being interrogated, and Tony was inches of being arrested for some crime he still didn't know about.

Abby had approached him about weeks ago to tell him that Tony had gone missing. He'd tried to search for him himself, but he didn't really have the resources, so he didn't find much. Then she came to him again just the other day saying that he was in real trouble. She wouldn't tell him what Tony had done, no matter how hard he pushed, but it was obviously something big. If he didn't know that by Abby's demeanor, he definitely knew when McGee and his partner showed up shortly afterwards.

Things definitely got more complicated when they showed up. Gibbs knew after he stupidly told them that Abby had destroyed Tony's apartment that he'd had to hide her. He'd beckoned her over as soon as McGee and Agent Blye stormed out of the apartment. He knew if they talked to her, they would get a hold of Tony before he could figure out what was going on and find a way to fix it. And they wouldn't be interested in helping Tony. Agent Blye couldn't care less about him and McGee pretty much hated him.

Gibbs was pulled from his thoughts when he heard someone come in. He looked over to see Ducky heading his way. "Hey, Duck."

"Jethro. I must say, this isn't where I wanted to see you next after so long," Ducky said.

"Well, you can thank McGee for that," Gibbs said bitterly. Okay, so he knew that wasn't technically accurate, but he just couldn't believe McGee actually arrested him. Even though the younger man had threated to do it several times, he never thought he'd actually go through with it.

"It's my understanding that you were arrested because you defied a court order," Ducky said.

"I was trying to protect Abby and Tony!" Gibbs explained.

"And how did defying a court order do that? Abigail has been arrested and Anthony is well on his way to being the same. Actually, the way I hear it, your actions led to Abigail's arrest," Ducky said. He'd heard all about how Gibbs had hidden Abigail from Timothy and his partner. He had no doubt that that not happened, Timothy would not have taken it this far. He did so only because he was left with no alternative.

"I didn't think he'd actually do it," Gibbs said.

Ducky sighed. "Exactly what have you witnessed of Timothy in the last two years gave that impression? He's not the same person who left two years ago. I thought you would've realized that by now."

"I have. I know he's not the same. I don't know, I guess I just hoped he wouldn't go that far," Gibbs said.

"You underestimated him, Jethro. Again," Ducky said.

"I…I just wanted time. Time to figure out what was going on so that I could help Tony," Gibbs said.

"You mean bail him out. Have you learned nothing in the last two years?" Ducky asked.

"Of course I have. I know I treated McGee horribly. What does that have to do with…?"

"I'm not talking about Timothy. He was not the only one you did a disservice to. Anthony and Abigail have suffered because of the way you favored them as well," Ducky said.

"Yeah, I know that. That's why I left. I wanted to send them a message that the way I let them treat McGee was wrong," Gibbs said.

"Again, I'm not talking about Timothy or the way you allowed him to be treated. I'm talking about the fact that you allow Anthony and Abigail to muck up their lives and the lives of others and then clean up after them as though it never happened. You have made it so that they never have to take responsibility for themselves. It's always someone else's fault. It's come to the point where they believe it now."

"That's not true," Gibbs said.

"Yes, it is and you know it. Abigail has shouted loudly and quite smugly for many years that she was your favorite and can do what she wishes. And you never said one word to contradict her. The closest you've ever come to chastising Anthony was to slap him upside the head, an act which seems to have been fruitless. You've never once brought them to task," Ducky said.

"What would you have me do, Duck? Let them fend for themselves?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes," Ducky said bluntly. "You certainly had no problem doing that with Timothy."

"Okay, you can say a lot about me when it comes to McGee, and almost all of it would be true, but don't say I never helped him. When he was truly in trouble, I did help him. You remember when he was accused of killing that cop?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes, I do. And yes, you did help clear him. But I believe you later told him, after he understandably had an issue using his gun, you'd take his badge if he ever hesitated again," Ducky said.

Gibbs looked away, not knowing what to say.

"Look, the way you treated Timothy was deplorable, but you already know that. What you don't seem to understand is that your treatment of the others was just as damaging, maybe even more so. They think they can do whatever they want and that you'll bail them out of trouble. Well, it's time for you to stop doing that. This business with Anthony is of his own making. You can't save him from it and it is time you stop trying. He needs to figure out how to sink or swim all on his own. The same with Abby. They are not children. Stop treating them like they are. Just think about it," Ducky said before walking away without waiting for a response.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim and Kensi made it to Abby's apartment and took out their guns. "You ready?" Kensi asked.

Tim took a deep breath and nodded. He then took a step back and kicked the door open. They'd decided in the car to barge in. They didn't want to give Tony a chance to run by knocking.

Tony was on the couch watching TV when he heard the loud crash of the door. Startled, he was out of his seat in seconds with his gun drawn.

"Put it down, Tony! Put it down now!" Tim ordered. He didn't think Tony would shoot them, but he was trained not to get a suspect to disarm or if need be, disarm them himself. He hoped it wouldn't come down to the latter.

"What the hell are you doing?" Tony asked without moving to lower his weapon. He knew people would be looking for him, but he never thought it would be McGee.

"Put the weapon down, DiNozzo!" Kensi reiterated with her gun trained on the rogue agent.

"Oh, please, I'm not gonna shoot you," Tony said before lowering his weapon.

"Put it on the ground," Tim ordered.

Tony scoffed. "You think you can treat me like a suspect, Probie? You? How'd you even find me?"

"Put the gun on the ground," Tim told him again.

Tony rolled his eyes and began to lower his gun to the ground. "Fine, McJumpy, you win. This time. Enjoy it while it lasts."

"Turn around and put your hands behind you head. You're under arrest," Tim told him.

Tony glared at his former teammate, but complied. He didn't feel like being charged with resisting arrest as well, so he'd let the amateur have his fun this time.

Tim holstered his weapon and went over to Tony. He took out a pair of handcuffs and started cuffing Tony's hands behind his back.

"I bet your loving this, huh?" Tony asked.

Tim ignored the comment. "Anthony DiNozzo Jr., You're under arrest for aiding in a prison escape and murder."


	11. Chapter 11

Tim stood in the director's office with Acting Director Craig. He was in charge while Vance was on bereavement leave.

"So the arrest went well?" Craig asked.

Tim shrugged. "As well as any arrest can go. DiNozzo didn't fight it. I think he knew he couldn't."

"So what will you do now?" Craig asked.

"Shouldn't you tell me that?" Tim asked. He had his orders from both Hetty and Granger, but Craig was the man in charge right now. It was for him to decide.

"Well, I, um… I… Whatever you think is best, Agent McGee," Craig said.

"Sir, can I give you some advice?" Tim asked. The man reminded him so much of himself. He had real potential as a director, but he was obviously nervous as hell at being in charge.

"Please," Craig said almost pleadingly.

"You act like this around anybody else, they're going to walk all over you," Tim said bluntly. It was true. He knew from personal experience. He'd spent years being a doormat around NCIS because he was too nice to stand up for himself. That was yet another thing working with his team had changed. He was still nice now, but he presented himself with a firmness that others dared not challenge, and if they did, they paid the price. Kind of like Gibbs was right now.

"Right," Craig said.

"You're in charge, sir. Don't be afraid to exert your authority just because you're afraid you might mess up. Hell, the truth is, you probably will mess up," Tim said.

Craig gulped just at the thought of messing up.

"Don't let that scare you. You wouldn't be the first director, or you know, human being, to mess up. It's a part of life. We screw up in different, unimaginable ways and then we make sure we don't do it the same way again," Tim said with a smile.

Craig chuckled. "That's good advice. Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

Tim nodded for him to go ahead. He had a feeling that he knew the question already.

"I've heard the stories of you around here. When you worked here under the former Agent Gibbs, you were nervous and unsure, then you went to LA and turned into this hotshot undercover agent that any team and any agency would give their right arm to have. How'd you do it?"

"Well, I had help, good friends to show me the way. But they didn't give me anything I didn't have somewhere inside me. I guess I just had to take the plunge. I had to stop being afraid and start asserting myself. That's my advice to you, sir. Most will respect you for it. So, Acting Director Craig, what am I going to do next," Tim asked with a smirk.

Craig took a deep breath and grew a determined look on his face. "You and Agent Blye will return to Los Angeles with Agent DiNozzo and Ms. Scuito. We don't know her involvement just yes, so she should be held until that can be determined. Gibbs will be released, as his obstruction wasn't destructive to the investigation, and he will be warned against further interference."

"Yes, sir," Tim said politely with a smile before walking out of the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs was sitting in his cell when he noticed Tim heading his way. "What are you doing here? Come to make sure I learned my lesson?"

"I'm not even sure that's possible, Gibbs," Tim said as he leaned against the bars. "You know, I didn't want it to go down this way. You left me no choice."

Gibbs sighed. "I was just trying to figure out what was going on."

"That's not your job anymore, it's mine. And you made that choice yourself when you decided to resign," Tim told him.

Gibbs was quiet for a few moments before asking the obvious question. "So what happens now?"

"I came to spring you," Tim said as he stood up straight and started unlocking the cell door.

"You're not pressing charges?" Gibbs asked in surprise.

"It was Acting Director Craig's call. He thinks that since you didn't do any serious damage to our case, that you shouldn't be charged. I can't say that I agree with him one hundred percent, but it was his call."

Gibbs stood up as the door opened. "And Tony and Abby?"

"Aren't your concern," Tim said firmly.

"Come on, just tell me what's going to happen to them," Gibbs requested.

Tim folded his arms across his chest. "Why should I? You've done nothing but interfere with my case from day one. Why should I do anything for you?"

"What did you expect me to do? Hand Abby over so that you could lock her up?" Gibbs asked.

Tim sighed. "The thing you fail to understand is that I was not going to arrest her then? I arrested her because you left me with no other recourse. You pushed me too far. I did what I had to do to get my answers."

"Alright, maybe I screwed up, but I had to do something to help Abby. You know how I feel about her," Gibbs said.

"Yeah, I do. You've made that blatantly obvious over the years. I also know that you bailing her out every time she does something stupid, like harboring a wanted man in her apartment, doesn't help her," Tim said irritably.

Surprise flashed across Gibbs' face. That was news to him. Talk about stupid. That could get Abby charged with accessory for whatever Tony had done. "I didn't know that."

"You knew enough. You knew she was at least talking to him and instead of insisting she come forward, you hid her away. And look where it got her," Tim said.

Gibbs cringed. He couldn't deny that when put like that, McGee was right. He had been trying to help, but instead he just made things worse. Now she and Tony were both in jail and he couldn't do a thing for either of them.

"You can leave now, just stay out of my case," Tim warned.

"Let me talk to them," Gibbs said. He needed to talk to Abby and Tony, not to interfere, but to try to get them to tell the truth about whatever was going on. That seemed to be the only way they could help themselves right now.

Tim rolled his eyes. "Did you not here what I just said?"

"I heard you. I don't want to interfere. I just want to talk to them. Maybe I can even help you," Gibbs said.

"I don't need your help, Gibbs. We will get the truth," Tim said.

"Come on, McGee, just give me a chance. Maybe there's a way of resolving this without transporting them across country. Wouldn't that be better for everyone?" Gibbs asked. He only assumed McGee was taking at least Tony to LA, probably Abby too. After all, for McGee to be here, the whole thing must have originated there.

Tim sighed. He couldn't believe he was even considering this, but Gibbs was right about one thing. If they could resolve this here and now, that would be better for everyone, though he wasn't sure how they could resolve it. "You have five minutes and I will be watching."

"Thank you," Gibbs said before exiting the cell and following Tim out.


	12. Chapter 12

Gibbs walked into the interrogation room Abby and Tony were in. McGee had had them put in the same room so that Gibbs could talk to them together.

"Gibbs!" Abby yelled before getting up and flinging herself into Gibbs' arms.

Gibbs immediately hugged her back. "Hey, Abs."

Abby finally let go of him. "So we're out of here now, right?"

Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "You think it's that easy? You think that you can break the law and walk away like it's nothing."

"But you're here. You'll get us out of here, right?" Abby asked.

Gibbs sighed. He was starting to think Ducky and McGee were right. Abby at least really thought that she could do what she wanted and get away with it. And she thought that because he always bailed her out. "Sit down."

Abby immediately took her seat next to Tony while Gibbs sat across from them.

"Hey, Boss," Tony greeted.

"DiNozzo. Wanna tell me what we're all doing here?" Gibbs asked. He knew that it wasn't all Tony's fault that they were there. He and Abby were responsible for their own parts. But this all started with Tony and whatever it was he had supposedly done.

"Sure, Boss. Because McTraitor thinks taking me down makes him look like less of an incompetent," Tony said

Gibbs glared daggers at his former agent. "Do you really think now is the time for your crap? Do you even realize how much trouble you're in?"

"Yeah, Boss, I do," Tony said seriously. Despite his comments, he did realize he was in deep. That was why he'd gone to Abby for help. He'd hoped she could help get out of it.

"Then how about taking it seriously instead of taking potshots at McGee. What the hell is it that you've gotten yourself into?" Gibbs asked.

Tony looked down and didn't speak.

Gibbs snapped his fingers in front of Tony's face. "Hey! I'm trying to help you here. I'm trying to help both of you. Now get your head out of your ass and help me help you!"

"Wait, what do you mean both of us? I didn't do anything," Abby said. She knew Tony was in big trouble, but she never thought she was in that much trouble.

Gibbs looked at her incredulously. "You helped a wanted fugitive evade arrest. Do you really need me to tell you that that's a crime?"

"I was trying to help Tony," Abby defended.

"How did this help, Abby? How did it do anything but put you in as much trouble as him," Gibbs asked before rounding on Tony. "And you. How in the hell could you let her? How could you involve her in this crap? Are you really that selfish that you would risk someone else just to protect yourself?"

"Come on, Boss, Abby will be fine. It's not the first time she's gotten involved illegally. She never gets in trouble," Tony said.

"That's because I was there to protect her from it. I don't know if you noticed, but I'm not there anymore. And by the way, this tops anything she's ever done before! This is aiding and abetting, maybe even accessory if they wanna stretch it that far," Gibbs said.

"Th…they can't really did that, can they?" Abby asked sounding scared.

"Yeah, Abs, they can. You helped a suspected criminal avoid the authorities. You hid him out in your apartment, and that's just what they know about. How much deeper are you in this. What exactly is this, by the way? What have you done, Tony?" Gibbs demanded to know.

"It's nothing, Boss," Tony lied.

"Don't tell me it's nothing! They don't send OSP agents across the country for nothing! Whatever you got yourself involved in, it's big," Gibbs said.

"It's nothing I can't handle," Tony said.

"Right. That's why we're all sitting in an interrogation room after being arrested," Gibbs said sarcastically.

Surprise registered on Tony and Abby's face. "You were arrested, Gibbs? Why?"

"Why do you think, Abs? Because I refused to turn you over even when I was compelled to by law," Gibbs said.

"But you're Gibbs. They can't arrest you," Abby said.

"Is that what you think? You think I'm immune to arrest because of who I am. Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I taught you that. I bailed you both out no matter how many times you crossed the line. I showed you that the law didn't apply to you," Gibbs said. Oh, yeah, he was starting to see very clearly now that Ducky and McGee were right. He'd allowed them to do whatever they wanted and it went to their heads. Now they thought they were special.

"Come on, Boss, there's no need to exaggerate," Tony said.

Gibbs thought about reaching over and smacking his former agent, but at this point, he wasn't sure it would do much good. "Oh, is that right? That's why you're sitting here treating this thing like a big joke. You are in serious trouble here. I don't know what you did, but if you don't start taking it seriously, you will find yourself in prison. You both will."

"You can't let that happen, Gibbs," Abby said frantically.

"How exactly do you think I can stop it? I couldn't even help you if I was on the job. You're in too deep. Your only chance now is to come clean," Gibbs said. He really didn't understand why they were keeping quiet. Was it really that bad that they'd risk going to prison to keep it a secret.

Neither of them spoke. They just stared down at the table.

Gibbs sighed and looked and leaned back in his chair. "So that's it, huh? You're just gonna stay quiet and hope it all goes away?"

Just then the door burst open revealing Tim. "Time's up, Gibbs. I've given you much longer than I said."

"Oh, take a walk, Probie. The big kids are talking," Tony said dismissively.

Gibbs glared at Tony and Abby. "This is your last chance. You talk now or you go with him back to LA. And believe me when I tell you, Tony, it's not going to be like every other time you've been in trouble. These people do not give a damn about you. They're not going to go out of their way to help you when you won't even help yourself. They will fry you and you will have no one but yourself to blame."

"I have nothing to say," Tony said simply.

"Just go, Gibbs," Tim told him.

Gibbs sighed and stood up.

"Gibbs, what are you doing?" Abby asked. He couldn't be leaving like this. He had to do something.

"I'm going home. It's obvious that there's nothing more I can do for you and honestly, I'm not sure I would try at this point if I were. So I will leave you with a piece of advice. Wise up before your arrogance destroys your life," Gibbs said before walking out the door. He hated to do it, but he had no choice. In the end, bailing those two out hadn't done anything for them. The best thing he could do now was to let them figure it out for themselves. It was time to walk away.


	13. Chapter 13

Tim made his way through the bullpen where the rest of his team was. He'd left Kensi at the boatshed with Tony and Abby. "Hey, guys."

"Hey. How was the trip?" Sam asked.

"I had more fun in Iran," Tim said as he went over and took his seat next to Sam.

"Are our 'friends' at the boatshed?" Callen asked.

"Yeah, Kensi's sitting on them. I needed a breather. There's only so much DiNozzo a person can take," Tim said. Tony had been as obnoxious as ever the entire way there. It was like he didn't even realize he was in any trouble.

"Still an ass?" Sam asked. It was a rhetorical question of course. People like DiNozzo didn't just change their ways.

"Hmm. Maybe even more so than before. God, he's treating this like it's a big joke. Like he's not looking at hard time," Tim said irritably. It really frustrated him the way Tony was treating this. This was not some joke. He was being charged with murder. He needed to realize that and start taking this whole thing seriously.

"It's gotten worse too. We received surveillance from the prison Sterling was in. DiNozzo is seen escorting him out. If there was any possibility that his identity was assumed, it's gone now," Callen said.

Tim sighed. "Well, this just keeps getting better and better."

Callen stood up from his chair. "Come on, let's go for a ride." He wanted to talk to Tim alone, get a feel for how he was dealing with all this. On the outside he seemed fine, but Callen had the feeling it didn't tell the whole story.

Tim stood up and followed Callen.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Twenty minutes later, Tim and Callen were walking down the beach. "Why'd you bring me to the beach? You hate the beach."

"But you like it. It's something you and Sam have in common. Being here helps you think," Callen said.

"What's to think about?" Tim asked as though it was just a normal day with a normal case.

"How about the fact that you just arrested someone you once considered a friend?" Callen asked.

"He was never my friend. Thinking he was, was just a delusion on my part," Tim said.

"True, but you did think of him that way at one point. Look, I know you wanna pretend like this case is just another case, and maybe you're even trying to convince yourself that it's true, but it's not. This is affecting you," Callen said firmly. It wasn't a question or even a guess. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this mess was affecting his coworker and friend.

"It's not affecting the way I do my job," Tim assured him. And it hadn't. He'd followed protocol. He didn't let his personal feelings towards Tony or anyone else get in the way.

Callen stopped walking and got in front of Tim so that they were eye to eye. "I'm not worried about your job, Tim. I'm not here as your superior. I'm here as your friend. I wanna help you. I couldn't care less about the case right now."

"I'm fine, Callen," Tim said. He was. He had to be. This had to be just another case and just another suspect. And if it wasn't, he would make it so.

"I'm not buying it. Look, no matter how much of an ass he is, you worked with this man for seven years. Good or bad, that means something," Callen said.

"What do you want me to say, Callen? That I'm pissed Tony screwed up on our turf?" Tim finally snapped.

"Is that how you feel?" Callen asked.

"Yeah, partly. I've spent two years trying to get over the misery those people caused me. And I finally managed to. I let go of the bitterness for the most part and I was moving on with my life. Then Tony freaking DiNozzo comes back and shakes things up for me. Yeah, that pisses me off! But you know what pisses me off more?" Tim asked.

"What?" Callen asked.

"That you're right. This mess Tony has affected me, and not just because I'm in his orbit. I actually care what happens to me and that kills me. I care if he spends the rest of his life in prison. What kind of fool does that make me?" Tim asked. He had tried not to care about what was going on. He tried so hard to make this just another case. But Callen was right. He did care. And he felt like such a fool for caring. Tony certainly didn't give a damn if he cared.

"It doesn't make you any kind of fool. It makes you a human being. You worked with this man every day for years. Of course you care what happens to him," Callen said.

"Well, I shouldn't. I don't want to," Tim said. He felt like caring about Tony was the first step to putting himself back into the same position he was in two years ago and he couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't go back there.

Callen seemed to almost read his thoughts. "There's a difference between caring what happens to someone and letting them back in to hurt you. You wouldn't let that happen and neither would I."

"I won't go back there," Tim said firmly.

"No, you won't," Callen agreed. Not only would Tim not let himself go back there, but Callen would be there to watch his back if DiNozzo even tried to pull him under again.

"I don't wanna care about him, but I can't seem to help it. But I won't let that feeling destroy what I've worked so hard for. I will not let this get in the way of my job. He's not going to bring me down with him," Tim said. He wasn't going to allow the compassion he couldn't help but feel for Tony destroy his life. He would find a way to stay impartial.

"Glad to hear it. Come on, let's head back and figure out the next move."

Tim nodded and followed him back towards the car.


	14. Chapter 14

Twenty minutes later, the agents, plus Hetty and Granger were all in the boatshed looking at Tony and Abby on the monitors. "You question them at all, Kensi?" Callen asked.

Kensi shook her head. "I just spent hours on a plane listening to DiNozzo act like an ass. If I had even tried to question him, I would've killed him.

"Now you know how I felt last year after spending hours in a car with him," Sam said.

"Are you ready, Mr. McGee?" Hetty asked.

Tim turned to her in disbelief. "What? Why me?" He didn't want to interrogate Tony. He wanted as little physical contact with Tony as possible. The man infuriated him on a good day.

"We can take it, Hetty," Callen said indicating himself and Sam

Hetty shook her head. "He is the only person here who knows this particular suspect on a personal level. You spent every day for years with him, Mr. McGee. You know what makes him tick. You know how to get under his skin."

Tim sighed unhappily. He could see he wasn't going to get out of this one. He was going to have to be the one to interrogate Tony. He hated it, but he knew Hetty was right. He was the only one who could anticipate Tony's every move.

Tim put an earpiece in his ear and then grabbed the file that was currently next to the monitors and headed down the hall to the interrogation rooms. He walked into the room Tony was held in.

Tony chuckled condescendingly. "You've gotta be kidding me. You? Come on, I rate more than a computer geek.

Tim ignored him and sat down across from his former colleague. He then opened the file and took out a picture of Tony walking out of prison with Sterling and put it in front of him.

"I take a nice picture, don't I? Better than you. But then I do everything better than you," Tony said.

Tim wordlessly took out another photo. This time it was of Tony standing over Sterling's body."

"Oh, I get it. You're trying to be Gibbs. Keep silent until he cracks?" Tony asked.

Tim reached in again and pulled out a copy of the ballistic results on the bullet that killed Sterling. He wouldn't normally do this, but with Tony nothing went normally. He wanted the man to see exactly how much trouble he was in.

Once he was done, Tim leaned back in his chair. "Do I need to lay all this out for you or are you smart enough to figure it out on your own?"

Tony just glared at him defiantly.

"Alright, fine. We have you illegally escorting Charles Sterling out of prison, we have you standing over his dead body, and finally the ballistics report that matches the bullet that killed him to your service weapon. Not to mention the fact that you went off the grid for weeks giving you plenty of opportunity, and it's no secret that you had a grudge against Sterling. So tell me, Tony. As an agent, what does all this mean?" Tim asked.

"Why don't you tell me since you seem to think you have all the answers?" Tony asked.

"It means that you need to get your head out of your ass and take this seriously or you're going to spend the rest of your life behind bars," Tim said.

"With you on the case? Not likely," Tony said.

Tim shook his head. "You just don't get it, do you? This isn't like every other time you screwed up. You got out from all of your messes before because Gibbs risked his ass and everyone else's to save yours. But Gibbs isn't here. You're on my turf now."

"Oh, you're turf, huh?" Tony asked with a condescending laugh.

"Yeah, that right, my turf. And no one here is going to risk their hides to save you. No one here gives a damn if you fry. So for God's sake, Tony, stop acting like an ass and treat this with the seriousness it deserves! What happened with Sterling?"

"Wow, you really feel like a big man now, don't you? You think you got me boxed into a corner," Tony said with a smug smirk.

Tim sighed. "You know what? Yeah, I do. In fact, I know I do. You wouldn't be acting like this otherwise. Yeah, you're an ass on a normal day, but even you know when to quit. This isn't your normal crap. This is how you act when you know you're in deep. And you are in deep. We've got enough evidence to put you away for murder one. Any good prosecutor will argue that you broke Sterling out of prison with the intention of killing him. But I don't think that's what happened."

Tony scoffed. "Oh, is this where you play good cop. Where you tell me that you can get me a lesser charge if I confess. Like I haven't done that one a million times."

Tim ignored him. "If you were really set out to kill someone, you would've done it better. You may underestimate my abilities, but I don't underestimate yours. You're smart enough to hide the evidence better. But you didn't. That tells me that something else is going on here." And it was true. If nothing else, Tony was smart enough to know how to cover his tracks better. After all, he'd been in law enforcement practically his entire adult life. But he hadn't covered his tracks. That meant that whatever happened to Sterling wasn't planned, at least not by Tony.

"I don't underestimate your abilities. You overestimate them," Tony said.

Tim sighed. He should've known that was the only thing Tony would actually here from everything he said. "Tony, do you wanna spend the rest of your life in prison? Because if that's what you want, tell me right now. I'll walk out that door and hand all this over to JAG and let them figure out what to do with you.

"Oh, so now you're playing hard ball, huh? Sorry to tell you, probie, but you suck at it. So why don't you get out of here and send in the big boys," Tony asked.

"You want the big boys?" a third voice asked.

Tim and Tony both turned to see Granger in the doorway with a cold yet eager look on his face. "Ask and you shall receive.


	15. Chapter 15

"Agent McGee, leave the room," Granger simply ordered.

"Gladly," Tim said before standing up. "You wanted the 'big boys', Tony? You got it." With that, he quickly left the room and went back to the main room where his teammates were waiting.

"Man, is it just me or did he actually become more of an ass with time?" Sam asked in reference to Tony.

"It's not just you. I swear, I was mere seconds away from throttling him," Tim said. The manner in which Tony was dealing with the charges against him was maddening. One would think that he'd start taking things seriously when he was in danger of spending the rest of his life in prison.

"Well, let's see how funny he thinks he is with Granger," Callen said with a smirk. Oh, how he was looking forward to seeing Granger take DiNozzo down a peg. He never thought he'd look forward to anything related to Granger, but this he was.

They all watched the screen as Granger grabbed a chair and approached the area where the camera was. He then stood on top of it and reached up.

"Oh, don't you do it!" Sam yelled at the screen. He knew what Granger was about to do.

Sure enough, seconds later, the screen went black.

"Oh, come on," Tim complained.

"The one time I'm actually interested what Granger has to say and we can't hear him say it!" Kensi vented.

"Talk about irony," Callen said.

Xxxxxxxxxx

After disabling the cameras, Granger brought his chair back to the table and sat down.

"Was that meant to scare me?" Tony asked.

"You should already be scared. You're looking at a life sentence," Granger said.

Tony shrugged. "It's not the first time I've been accused of something."

"Oh, I know it's not. I read your file. You've been framed three times in the last ten years. There was one time by our victim, there was another by a man you put away for a crime he didn't commit, though that was apparently resolved pretty quickly, and finally, the time your girlfriend tried to frame for her father's death. You're just the guy everyone likes to frame, aren't you? Now what does that say about you?" Granger asked.

"Every agent has enemies," Tony said.

"True, but most of them don't make enemies out of other agents. You, however, make plenty. For instance, take every agent in this building right now. They hate your guts. In fact, there's only one person here who actually gives a damn what happens to you. It's pretty ironic considering you treat him like he's something from the bottom of your shoe," Granger said.

"Another McGee fan, I take it?" Tony asked.

Hardly," Granger said before he stood up and began pacing the floor casually. "I've known Agent McGee almost a year now. There are very few agents who infuriate me like he does. In fact, the only one who rivals him is Special Agent Callen. But do you know what that means, DiNozzo? You know what it says about him?"

Tony didn't answer.

Granger walked back over and leaned over the table before whispering. "It says he's a damned good agent. Most of the ones that annoy me are the good ones." He would never tell McGee that of course. That was the reason he'd disabled the camera. He wasn't trying to scare DiNozzo, not yet anyway. He could scare DiNozzo just fine on camera. No, he disabled it to secure his reputation as a hard ass. It wouldn't do well for his agents to hear how he thinks of them.

Granger stood up again and once again walked around the room. "Of course there are exceptions. There's you. You annoy me and it has nothing to do with being a good agent."

Tony glared at the man. "Hey, say whatever else you want, but I am a good agent!"

"You're not even an agent anymore. What you are is a murderer? And honestly, from what I've heard, you weren't all that good before," Granger said.

"Heard from who? McGee? McGee is nothing but a geek. He's a failure!" Tony yelled.

"What does that make you? You, a federal agent who plans a murder, carries it out, and then leaves a trail of evidence straight back to him," Granger asked.

"You don't know what happened," Tony said quietly.

"I don't really care. See, I'm not McGee. I'm not all that interested in your side. As far as I'm concerned, you committed first degree murder. Now if you wanna tell me different, that's fine, but I'm not going to beg you for it and I'm not going to sit here while you treat this like a night out at the comedy club. McGee feels like he owes you a chance because he as history with you. Though from what I've heard about said history, that's a ridiculous notion. But I feel no such obligation,"

"Then why are you here?" Tony asked.

"Like I said, I'll listen if you have something to say. If not, I will more than happily send you and your Goth friend to prison for the rest of your lives," Granger said.

Tony's eyes flashed with fear. "Leave Abby out of this!"

"Can't do that. See, she knew where you were. She hid you. I personally think she's been helping you this whole time. And that makes her an accessory to murder. She goes down too," Granger said with a smirk.

"She didn't know anything! I contacted her after Sterling was dead!" Tony yelled.

"Do you have something to say, DiNozzo? Should I turn the camera back on?" Granger asked.

Tony was quiet for a minute and then uttered one word. "Yes."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

The rest of the team continued to wait in the main area of the boatshed, all wondering what was going on with Granger and Tony. Then all of a sudden, the interrogation room was on the screen again.

"Finally," Sam said before they all went over to the monitors.

They watched as Granger sat down across from Tony. "You broke Sterling out of prison."

"Yes," they heard Tony say.

"To what end?" Granger asked.

"To kill him," Tony said.

Tim frowned. That couldn't be right. Tony wasn't that stupid. He wouldn't leave that much evidence lying around. If it was premeditated, he would've at least attempted to hide the evidence.

"You planned to murder Charles Sterling? Why?" Granger asked.

"He set me up for murder and he tried to kill a friend of mine?" Tony said.

"That was years ago. Why now after all this time?" Granger asked.

"He'd been calling me. He called my place at least once a day. He told me he'd hired a shark to get him off on some technicality. I knew if he did, he'd pick up where he left off. He'd try to destroy my life. So I devised a plan to stop him. He deserved it for what he tried to do to Abby anyway," Tony said.

"Why'd you wait so long to kill him?" Granger asked.

"Well, when I broke him out, all I thought about was that I wanted him dead. I didn't think about how I'd do it. And honestly, a part of me wanted him to be blindsided by my attack. I wanted him to think he got one over on me." Tony said.

"Why'd you bring him here? Why LA?" Granger questioned.

"I didn't bring him here. I followed him. I just figured it would be better here. No one had any reason to believe I'd come here. I didn't count on security footage. By the time I realized, it was too late. I panicked and I went to Abby. She didn't know what I had done. Just that I was in trouble and needed help," Tony explained.

"Wow, he really did snap, didn't he?" Kensi asked once Tony finished speaking.

"I'm surprised he gave it up so easily," Callen said.

"Well, I'm pretty sure he already knew he was screwed. Besides, we don't know how easily he gave it up. We missed a good five minutes thanks to Granger," Sam said.

"We know all we need to. I think it's time you all head back and begin your reports," Hetty said.

They all nodded and headed out. Everyone except Tim anyway. He just stood there and stared at Tony on the screen.

"Mr. McGee?" Hetty called.

Tim turned to her, but didn't say anything.

"You don't think it's over , do you?" Hetty asked.

"He confessed. He had all the right answers," Tim said.

"But you don't believe him." It wasn't a question. Hetty knew her agent did not believe that confession was the truth.

"No. I know when Tony's lying, at least most of the time. He is lying now," Tim said confidently.

"Officially, this case is closed. However, tying up a few lose ends never hurt anyone," Hetty said.

"Thank you," Tim said before heading out of the boatshed.


	16. Chapter 16

Tim walked into the Ops. Center and approached Eric. "Eric."

Eric turned around to face his coworker. "Oh, hey, man. I bet you're glad this case is closed, huh?"

"It's not closed for me. Listen, I need a favor," Tim said.

"What do you mean it's not closed? I heard DiNozzo made a full confession," Eric said in confusion.

"I'll explain later. Look, can you access Tony's phone records?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, of course," Eric said before typing away on his computer. "What are we looking for?"

"Calls from Sterling from prison to Tony. Go back from the last couple of months," Tim said. He wanted to know exactly how much of Tony's story was a lie. He was marginally sure it wasn't all a lie. In his experience, when someone lied, they at least started off with one truth.

"Okay, here we go," Eric said as he got to the phone records. "No calls from the prison."

"Well, that's lie number one," Tim said.

"So does this mean the case is back open?" Eric asked.

"Not technically, no," Tim said. The fact that Tony lied wasn't going to make Granger let them keep going. All he was going to care about was the full confession, which was why Hetty had cautioned him without so many words that this was off the books.

"So what now?" Eric asked.

Tim thought for a minute. "Get into the prison records. Find out anyone Sterling contacted in the last couple of months."

"Okay, I can do that. It might take a little while though. Prison records are a bit tight as I'm sure you know," Eric said.

"Yeah, I know. Just get them as soon as you can. And, Eric, Granger can't find out about this. He thinks the case is closed and he won't change his mind just because of phone records," Tim said.

"Okay, got it, low key," Eric said before typing away at his computer again.

"Thanks," Tim said before walking back out of Ops. and down the stairs to the squad room. Everyone was at their desks working. "Callen."

Callen looked up to see Tim walk passed him while motioning for him to follow. He immediately got up and dis as his friend and colleague requested.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim led the way out of the building and to the parking lot. He wanted to be out of the building in case Granger was around any corners.

"As soon as we're done the paperwork, DiNozzo will be transferred and JAG will be called," Callen said.

"I need you to stall that," Tim said. He needed as time as possible to find out what the hell was going on with Tony.

Callen did a double take at his friend's words. "What?"

"He lied, Callen," Tim said.

"How do you know?"

"I had Eric check his story. Tony didn't receive any calls from Sterling. He lied," Tim said again.

"Okay, maybe he just added the calls to get sympathy," Callen said.

Tim shook his head. "No. If Tony planned a murder, he would've hidden it better. I mean, he's a federal Agent for God's sake. He wouldn't have been so sloppy."

"Why would he confess to premeditated murder if that's not what happened. Murder One. That's what he admitted to. Why do that if he's not guilty of it?" Callen asked. It made no sense. Confessing to Murder One was a guaranteed life sentence. Why would anyone willingly lie about committing such an act? Usually it was the other way around. Usually people guilty of premeditated murder tried to lie their way out of it.

"I don't know. I don't know why Tony's done any of the things he's done lately. God, I just wish Granger hadn't cut us off in the middle of that interrogation," Tim said. He had a feeling that the answers he was looking for were somewhere in that interrogation. Something must have happened to get him to confess so quickly.

"You think Granger coerced the confession?" Callen asked skeptically. Granger was an ass, but even he didn't think the man would knowingly coerce a confession.

"No, not coerced, but maybe he said something that could give us a clue as to why Tony confessed so easily," Tim said.

"Well, I'm not going to ask him. Are you?" Callen asked with a knowing smirk. He knew there was no way his friend was suicidal enough to question Granger like that.

Tim snorted at the very idea. Like he was going to go question Granger about possibly screwing up an interrogation. Yeah, that would go over real well.

"So how do you wanna play it? You wanna question DiNozzo again?" Callen asked.

Tim shook his head. "No, Tony's not going to say more than he already has. I've got Eric looking into the prison phone records to see Sterling contacted recently. There must be some kind of clue as to why Tony would break him out. I'm hoping it'll be somewhere in those records."

"So what do you need me to do?" Callen asked.

"Just stall things for a few hours. Once this thing gets to JAG, it's out of our hands. Just give me long enough to get those records," Tim said.

Callen sighed. "Okay, I'll do my best, but Granger wants this case closed yesterday, so Eric better hurry."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim walked back into Ops. about an hour later. "Eric, any luck?"

"Yeah, I got it, and ahead of my deadline too," Eric said with a satisfied smirk.

"I'm so happy for you. Look, I'm kinda on time crunch here. Please tell me you found something good," Tim said.

"Well, Sterling called one number regularly over the last month he was in prison," Eric said before putting what he'd found on the big screen.

Tim went over to the screen and enlarged the phone records. To say he was surprised by what he saw would be an understatement. He knew that number. Apparently it hadn't been changed over the years. "Oh my God. I didn't see this one coming."

"What is it? Do you know who the number belongs to?" Eric asked curiously.

Tim was quiet for a few seconds before answering. "Yeah. It's Abby's."


	17. Chapter 17

Twenty minutes later, the entire team was in the Ops. Center. Tim had told those who didn't know what he'd been up to. He knew he couldn't keep it secret any longer.

To say that Granger was pissed would be an understatement. He did not enjoy being kept in the dark. "You went behind my back!"

"I followed my instincts. Something told me we didn't have the full story and I felt the need to find out what we were missing," Tim said.

"We had a confession! The case was closed. I don't like my agents investigating closed cases behind my back," Granger said while glaring.

"They are _my_ agents, Owen, and it just so happens that Mr. McGee had my permission to keep investigating," Hetty said.

Granger turned his glare from Tim to Hetty. "You told him to go behind my back, Henrietta?"

"I encouraged him to tie up any ends that might be loose. As it happens, there was pretty big one," Hetty said.

"Would you have rather he have done nothing and send a potentially innocent man to prison?" Callen asked while leveling Granger with a glare.

"Okay, let's not go so far as to call him innocent," Sam said. DiNozzo may not have committed murder, but he was far from an innocent. But he did agree that they couldn't sent him to prison for something he didn't do.

"It hasn't been established that he's innocent. So he lied, so what? He still confessed to murder," Granger said.

"We get it, you don't like DiNozzo. You'll be hard pressed to find a single person in this room who does, but with all due respect, sir, I have more reason to hate him than anybody here. If I can be objective, you should be able to as well," Tim said.

"He has a point, Owen. Now Mr. DiNozzo lied at least once during his confession. Given that he confessed to the highest count of murder there is, I suggest we try to find out why," Hetty said.

"I think we already know why. The calls from Sterling were made to Abby, not Tony. She was the one he was harassing," Tim said.

"Making it plausible that she's the one that killed him," Kensi added.

"It was DiNozzo's gun that fired the shots and he was the one on the security footage.

"But the camera was cut off for a good two hours before coming back on again. We don't have the actual murder on tape, just the aftermath. We don't know what happened during that time gap," Eric said.

"And Abby could've taken DiNozzo's gun or he could've given it to her for protection," Callen continued.

"I checked airport records. Abby Scuito arrived in LA roughly three days before Sterling's death. In fact, she got here before DiNozzo did," Nell said.

Kensi turned to Tim. "You think Abby would admit to killing Sterling if she was confronted?"

Tim shook his head and sighed. "I don't know. Abby is extremely selfish, but I wouldn't have thought she'd sacrifice Tony's life for her own selfish needs. However, it appears that's exactly what she's done. A good friend would've admitted to what she did the moment she realized Tony was a suspect."

"Maybe we could lie. Tell DiNozzo already gave her up," Sam suggested.

"No, those tactics won't work with her. She's seen them a billion times," Tim said.

"Well, there's gotta be some way to determine what happened," Callen said.

Tim turned to Eric. "Eric, can you go back into Abby's phone records and see who else she might have been in contact with often."

"Yeah, sure," Eric said before going to his computer. He typed away until he accessed the records. "Okay, well, she was in contact with DiNozzo quite a bit, but I don't think that's too surprising. Oh, here's something. She placed several calls to number right here in LA within the last month. Hang on, let's see if he's listed. Got him. Kyle Davis."

Callen looked at Tim. "Any idea who that is?"

"Not a clue, but it's not like Abby and I have done much catching up over the last couple of years," Tim said. The closest they'd come was him allowing her to help him save Callen. And even then it was a struggle for him to remain civil to her. He certainly didn't ask her questions about her personal life.

"Okay, well I think we better talk to this guy. He's obviously involved somehow. Tim, you Kensi will go to his place and see him. Eric, you got an address?" Callen asked.

"Yep, I'll send it to their phones," Eric said.

"Alright, let's go," Kensi said before leading the way out of Ops. Tim followed behind her closely.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim and Kensi arrived at a small house belonging to Kyle Davis a half an hour later. "So who do you think he is?"

"I don't know. Whoever he is, she obviously hasn't known him longer than a couple of years because I've never heard of him," Tim said.

"Well, let's find out," Kensi said as they got to the door. She then rang the doorbell.

A young guy with dark hair opened the door a minute later. "Oh, Hello."

"Hi. Are you Kyle?" Kensi asked.

"Yes, that's me."

Kensi took out her badge and showed him her ID. "Special Agents Blye and McGee, NCIS."

"Is Abby okay?" Kyle asked immediately.

"Yeah, she's fine. Can we come in?" Tim asked.

"Of course," Kyle said before moving aside to allow the two agents in. He then led them into the living room. "Please have a seat."

Tim and Kensi sat down on the couch while Kyle took a seat across from them in a black, leather recliner.

"So what can I help you guys with? I know you said Abby was okay, but is this about her?" Kyle asked.

"Yes, it is. How do you know Abby?" Tim asked.

"Well, she's my sister," Kyle said.

Tim raised an eyebrow in surprise. Whatever he expected to hear, that wasn't even in the ballpark. "Your sister?"

"Yeah, she found me a while ago. Apparently she was given up for adoption by my mother when she was a baby. She didn't tell me who she was at first, but finally she did a few months ago. We've been trying to get to know each other, but that was kind of hindered when I got a new job here and had to move," Kyle explained.

"Have you seen her recently?" Tim asked. He needed to ask to make sure Abby didn't use her brother as the reason for her coming to LA a couple of months ago.

"No, not since I left Washington DC. But she's been calling me a lot," Kyle said.

"Did she say why?" Kensi asked.

"No, but she was acting really strange. She kept asking if I was okay and telling me that I had to be careful," Kyle said.

"But she didn't give you a reason for it?" Tim asked for clarification.

"No. She just kept telling me to keep my eyes opened and to call her or an Agent DiNozzo if I thought someone was following me or if I got any strange calls," Kyle explained.

"And did you?" Kensi asked.

"Not then, but there was a call about a month ago from this guy. He told me he was a friend of my sister's and was checking up on me for her. I didn't tell her about it though. I got the feeling that would just make things worse," Kyle said.

"Did this guy give you a name?" Tim asked. He of course already knew the name, but he needed Kyle to say it.

"Chip. He said his name was Chip."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Ten minutes later, Tim and Kensi walked out of the house and towards the car. "Well, that was enlightening," Kensi said.

"Yeah. If Sterling was targeting her brother, it gives Abby a good motive for wanting him dead," Tim said.

"I think we have enough to get something out of her now," Kensi said.

"Yeah, let's go," Tim said before getting into the car.


	18. Chapter 18

An hour later, Tim walked into the interrogation room Abby was in. The others were waiting outside like before. This time it wasn't even a question of whether or not he would be the one to conduct the interrogation. He felt he had to do it.

Tim walked over and sat across from Abby.

"Well, it's about time. Where's Tony? What are you doing to him?" Abby demanded to know.

"Do you even care?" Tim asked more than a bit irritably. He wasn't happy to have been jerked around this whole time and he didn't find Abby's willingness to sacrifice an innocent man at all amusing.

"How can you even say that? Of course I care!" Abby said outraged at the accusation.

"Really? You could've fooled me. Tony confessed to murder, Abby. He told us that he broke Chip out of prison with the intention of killing him. Do you understand what that means?" Tim asked. He didn't want to bust her just yet. He wanted her to admit to the murder herself. He wanted to believe that there was something inside her that would force her to do the right thing.

Abby felt guilt swell inside her at the prospect of what that could mean for Tony. She didn't say anything though. She knew that she would be screwing herself if she did.

"At best, he'll spend the rest of his life in a prison cell. Then again, California is a death penalty state," Tim said.

Abby's eyes widened. "You can't do that! You can't kill Tony!"

"I'm not the one killing him," Tim said pointedly.

Abby looked away. It was obvious that he'd figured it out. She couldn't tell if he had proof though.

"Wow. You're really not going to say anything, are you? You know, when I first realized you were harboring Tony, I thought he was hiding behind you. But he wasn't. You were hiding behind him. You still are. Look at you. I just told you that Tony's looking at a possible death sentence and you still won't give it up," Tim said. He wished he could say it was unbelievable that Abby was this selfish, but was it really? This was the same woman that lashed out at him for defending himself against a dog.

"That won't happen. Gibbs will help Tony," Abby said. She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince more. Tim or herself.

Tim laughed humorlessly. "You don't get it, do you? The two of you are beyond Gibbs' help. You would be even if he did still have his job. And honestly, I don't think he'd help anyway. He seems to have realized that his help has done nothing but let you think you can get away with murder. Literally. You killed Chip, not Tony."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Abby lied unsuccessfully.

"We checked your phone records. You received several calls from Sterling just before his escape. I also know about Kyle. I spoke to him," Tim told her.

Abby looked at him with shock and anger. "You spoke to my brother? You had no right!"

"I had every right. I'm a federal agent," Tim said.

"Barely. You're not a real agent. You've never been anything but a glorified computer tech," Abby said condescendingly. She was hoping if she got McGee angry enough, she could distract him and figure out a way out of this.

Tim knew immediately what Abby was doing. "It's not going to work, Abby. Tony couldn't pull it off and neither can you. It doesn't matter what you say to me, it's not going to get you out of this. You only have one choice here. Tell me the truth. I will find a way to prove that it was you who killed Sterling. I have motive and opportunity. You were here when Sterling was killed. He was threatening your brother. So what happened? You broke him out of jail and it wasn't enough?"

Abby didn't answer.

"Damn it, Abby, for once in your life stop being such a selfish shrew! Do not let Tony fry for something that you did!" Tim yelled. While it was unlikely that Tony would evade all punishment, he didn't have to go down for murder.

Abby glared at Tim. "Since when do you give a damn about Tony."

"My feelings for Tony have nothing to do with this. I don't need to like Tony to realize you're screwing him over. Tony has always stood by you no matter what. He deserves better than this from you," Tim said. He had no love lost for Tony, but he didn't deserve this, especially not from Abby. Tony may have been an ass to Tim, but he'd always been loyal to Abby, even when he shouldn't. The fact that she would sell him down the river like this was unbelievable.

"Tony will be fine," Abby said, again, she wasn't sure who she was trying to convince more.

"So that's it? You're just going to let him rot? Wow. With friends like you, who needs enemies?" Tim asked before standing up and walking out of the room. He walked back up front to where the others were.

"Well, that could've gone better," Callen said.

"I was really hoping she'd give it up. I hoped that if she didn't do it for Tony, she'd at least realize that we were on to her and that she couldn't get away with it," Tim said.

"Wishful thinking. We don't have enough to charge her with the full murder, Tim. We could do accessory after the fact, but DiNozzo would still go down for Murder One," Callen said.

"Our only hope is DiNozzo. We've gotta get him to recant his confession and tell us the truth," Kensi said.

"That's easier said than done. Tony's gotten into the habit of protecting Abby. It was pretty much a necessity while working under Gibbs. He expected it," Tim said.

"I hate to say this, but I don't think we have a choice. If Gibbs is the one that got him in the habit of protecting her then he's the only one who can get him out of it," Callen said.

Tim sighed and took out his cellphone to call Gibbs.


	19. Chapter 19

The next day, Tim met Gibbs at the airport. He wasn't all that happy about having to deal with Gibbs so soon after the last time, but Callen was right. Only Gibbs could make Tony see reason.

After getting Gibbs from the airport, they went straight to the boatshed where the others were waiting. "Alright, why am I here?" Gibbs asked Tim. "You made it clear you wanted me nowhere near this. I had to persuade you just to let me see Tony and Abby."

"Well, that might have something to do with you actively obstructing our investigation," Tim said dryly.

"A mistake," Gibbs admitted. He did regret trying to save Tony and Abby. He regretted that he'd done that all the time in the past. It hadn't helped either of them one bit. "So what do you need?

"We need you to help me with Tony. I need you to get him to tell me the truth," Tim said.

"I tried that, McGee. He wouldn't even tell me what this is all about," Gibbs said.

"Things have changed," Tim said.

"What's changed? In fact what happened in the first place?" Gibbs asked. He still didn't know what this whole thing was about. He knew it was big because they didn't send the Officer of Special Projects out for just anything, but no one told exactly what happened.

"Charles Sterling," Tim stated.

Gibbs just stared at him blankly. He was never good with names, especially if the person wasn't important to him.

"Abby's former lab assistant," Tim tried again.

Gibbs' eyes darkened as he realized who McGee was talking about. "You mean the bastard that tried to kill her and framed DiNozzo for murder?"

"The very same. He's dead," Tim told him.

Gibbs sighed. "I don't believe in coincidences, so I'm guessing you think Tony killed him."

"Not anymore."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow as if to tell him to go on.

"We did suspect him in the murder. He was seen on camera with Sterling's body, his gun was used to kill him, and then there's the confession," Callen said.

"Tony confessed?" Gibbs asked.

Tim nodded. "He said he broke Sterling out of prison with the intent to kill him. We know the first part is true, but I had a hard time believing the second."

"Yeah, there's no way he committed premeditated murder and left a trail leading right to him. He's not that stupid," Gibbs said. No matter what else, Tony wasn't stupid. He knew how to cover his ass when he needed to.

"I'd hold that thought if I were you. He did confess. That don't sound smart to me," Sam said.

"No, he's gotta have a reason," Gibbs said.

"He does. He's protecting someone else," Tim said while looking at Gibbs meaningfully.

Gibbs stared back at him, both having a silent conversation. Then Gibbs shook his head. "No. No way."

"It was Abby," Tim said.

"No! Abby may be a lot of things, but she's not a murderer. You're letting your personal feelings get in the way," Gibbs said. He regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth. He was falling back into old habits again. Not only blaming McGee for something that was obviously not his fault, but also by defending Abby. He swore he was going to let Tony and Abby sink or swim on their own. It was just a little more difficult than he anticipated, especially with Abby.

Gibbs' statement was met by three identical glares from the rest of Tim's team. Sam was the one to speak. "Back off! If he was letting his personal feelings get in the way, he would've let your man fry when he confessed! We had no problem with his confession. Tim is the one who poked holes in it."

"It's okay, Sam, I expected this," Tim said before turning to Gibbs. "I knew you were going to try to deny this, maybe put it off on me. It wouldn't be the first time. But you can't refute the evidence," Tim said.

"What evidence?" Gibbs asked.

"Abby was in contact with Sterling. There are several calls from him to her. Sterling was also in contact with her younger brother, Kyle. We think he was threatening him," Tim said.

"Even if he was, that doesn't mean she killed him," Gibbs said. He still wasn't ready to accept that Abby had killed someone.

"It makes her a suspect. A bigger suspect than Tony. She followed Sterling here when he came. We think that Abby asked Tony to break him out of prison because he threatened to have someone hurt her brother if they didn't get him out. But when they did get him out, he decided to go after him anyway. Abby wanted to protect her brother, so she somehow got ahold of Tony's gun and she went after Sterling," Tim explained.

"That's speculation. You don't know what happened," Gibbs said.

"I know that Tony lied during his confession. I also know that without your help, it won't matter. He'll go down for Murder One. You know what that means. It means he'll either spend the rest of his life in a cell or he'll be executed," Tim said.

Gibbs cringed. He couldn't let that happen. He didn't want Abby to go to jail, but it was likely that the mitigating circumstance would be taken into consideration for her. Tony's punishment would be steep if his confession stuck. He could possible lose his life for something that he didn't even do. That couldn't happen. No, for once, Abby was going to have to be accountable for her own actions. "What do you want me to do?"

"Neither Abby or Tony will admit what happened. Abby out of selfishness and Tony out of some misguided loyalty. This started with you. You're the one who engrained it in Tony that Abby was to be protected no matter what the cost. Now you have to end that mentality. Help me get Tony to see that he cannot continue to sacrifice himself for Abby," Tim said.

"You want me to deliver the final blow to Abby's future?" Gibbs asked. He realized that Abby needed to be held accountable for what she did, but he really didn't want to be the one responsible for her going down.

"You can't protect them both, Gibbs," Callen said.

"He's right. One of them is going down for this. Now call me crazy, but I think it should be the one that actually committed the crime," Tim said.

Gibbs sighed and rubbed his forehead. He didn't want to do this. He loved Abby like a daughter. He didn't want to see her go down. But he couldn't let Tony fry in her place. It just wasn't right. Tony had a lot to answer for, but Abby's crime shouldn't be one of those things.


	20. Chapter 20

Tony was waiting in Interrogation contemplating what was about to happen to him when he heard the door open. He looked up to see McGee in the doorway. "What do you want now, Probie. I already confessed. What, are you here to gloat?"

Tim didn't say anything. He just walked inside and held the door open for Gibbs, who immediately stepped inside.

Tony was very surprised to see his former boss. The last time he'd seen him, the man had said he couldn't help him anymore. "Boss what are you doing here?"

"Apparently watching you throw your life away," Gibbs said before walking over to his former agent and sitting down across from him.

"What'd he tell you?" Tony asked referring to McGee.

"That you confessed to first degree murder. The problem is, I don't believe you committed first degree murder," Gibbs said.

"You don't think I'm capable of it?" Tony asked.

"I think anyone's capable of it under the right circumstances. I do not, however, think you're stupid enough to plan a murder and not even try to cover it up afterwards," Gibbs said.

Tony shrugged and looked away.

Tim walked over and took the vacant seat next to Gibbs. "We know you lied to us, Tony. Sterling didn't call you once."

Tony cringed inwardly. He had really been hoping that they wouldn't go looking into his story. That was why he told them he planned the murder. There would be no reason to look if he confessed to the highest count of murder. "So what? It doesn't mean anything. I still killed him."

"I don't believe you. I know you. You're an ass and you can act like an idiot, but you're not so sloppy that you would commit Murder One and do nothing to save yourself," Tim said.

"Maybe I felt guilty. Maybe I wanted to be caught," Tony said.

"I might believe that if you hadn't run," Tim said.

"What do you care anyway? You can't stand me. I'm the guy that made your life hell for seven years. I'm the one who went out of his way to show you how much more superior I was to you. And I was. I still am. It doesn't matter how much these people here tell you how great you are. You'll always be lesser than me, lesser than everyone," Tony said. He wanted McGee to get angry with him. He wanted him to focus on that anger and let him go down.

Tim's face was completely impassive. "It didn't work a few hours ago, Tony, and it's not gonna work now. You cannot distract me. We're not leaving here until the truth comes out."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I would say you're losing your instincts as an agent, but I doubt you ever had them in the first place," Tony said.

"Tony, cut the crap! You're not helping yourself here," Gibbs said.

"He's not trying to help himself. He wants us to let him go down. He thinks he's doing the right thing by sacrificing himself. Tell me, Tony, would she do the same thing for you?" Tim asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Tony said again.

"No, she wouldn't. She wouldn't lift a finger for you. She's proving it right now. She knows you've confessed and she won't say a word, even though she knows that there's a chance of you facing death row. Is that really somebody you're willing to die for?" Tim asked.

Tony said nothing. Anything he could say would incriminate Abby and he refused to do that.

"Tony, say something, damn it! He is throwing you a lifeline. Take it before it's too late!" Gibbs yelled.

Tony frowned at the older man. Did Gibbs not realize who they were discussing here? Why was he encouraging him to give up Abby? He was the one that was always telling him, telling all of them, that Abby was to be protected no matter what. That was all he was trying to do.

Gibbs could see the questions in his former agent's eyes. He knew he was confused. "Look, I know I've spent your entire career at NCIS telling you to protect Abby. She was like a daughter to me and I thought I was doing right by her. In many ways I'm responsible for this entire thing. But it's time to correct that now. It's time for Abby to stand up on her own."

"Boss…"

Gibbs put his hand up to stop him. He wasn't through yet. "You know, when I found out Abby let you take the blame for this, I was horrified. I knew she could be selfish, but I never thought she'd be so much so that she'd actually let someone possibly go to death row for her. But apparently I was wrong. McGee is right. She doesn't deserve your protection. She certainly isn't benefiting from it. It's time for her to take responsibility for her own actions. Tell the truth, DiNozzo. Don't go to prison for her."

"I'm going to prison anyway," Tony said. No matter what else, he was responsible for the jail break. He was going to do time.

"There's a difference between aiding in a prison escape and committing first degree murder. Yeah, you'll do time, but you'll be out again in few years. It's a big leap from a lifetime in prison or possibly death," Tim said.

Tony was torn. He still felt like he should protect Abby, but he didn't like his fate if he did so, and the fact that Abby was so willing to sacrifice him hurt a lot. Maybe McGee was right for once. Maybe Abby wasn't worth his sacrifice. He just wasn't sure what to do.

Tim could see that Tony was close. All he had to do was give him a little push. "Tony, you've spent the majority of your career protecting Abby. We all have. We've all risked ourselves at least once for her and she's never been grateful. And now you've destroyed your career for her. Don't destroy your entire life for her."

"You want me to turn my back on her the way you turned your back on the rest of us?" Tony asked.

Tim sucked in a breath to keep himself from commenting. He did not want to make this about him and what the Tony and the others had done to him. He wanted the conversation to stay on the matter at hand. "Okay, Tony, I've done everything I can for you. You have to decide what to do now. Are you going to destroy your life for someone who couldn't care less or are you going to finally let Abby face the consequences of her actions."

There was silence between the three men for several moments. Finally, Tony broke it. "Abby called me one day frantic. Chip had been calling her nonstop for weeks and he threatened her younger brother. She begged me for help."

"To break him out of prison," Gibbs guessed.

"Yeah. Chip said he had some people that would kill Abby's brother if we didn't help him escape. At first I said no. I told Abby we'd find another way, but she just kept begging me. Then she said she'd do it herself if I didn't help. I couldn't let that happen, so I finally agreed to do it," Tony explained.

"What possessed you to sign the prison log? You had to know you'd be caught," Tim said.

"I figured I'd say that I suspected him in something and planned to take him to NCIS, but before I got there, he got the better of me and took me hostage for a while. That's why I went off the grid. It was all planned. I would go missing and Abby would become frantically worried on my behalf. I would return a couple of weeks later having 'escaped' and that would be that," Tony said.

"But the game changed," Gibbs said. It wasn't a question.

"Yeah. Chip came to LA where Kyle was living. Abby got scared. She came to where I was hiding out frantic. I tried to get her to calm down. I told her it was probably just a coincidence. It seemed to work at first too. She said that I was probably right and she went home. When I tried to call her later though, she didn't pick up. I kept calling and she still didn't pick up. I got this gut feeling that something wasn't right. I went to her place and she was gone. So was half her clothes. I knew exactly where she was going," Tony said sadly. He felt so guilty that he'd let her leave. He supposed that was partially why he'd protected her. He blamed himself for not being able to stop her.

"How'd she get your gun?" Tim asked.

"I gave it to her right after the escape. I wanted her to have it in case Chip came after her. I didn't think he would, but just in case. If I had known what she'd do with it… Anyway, when I got here, I immediately started looking for her. By the time I found her though, it was too late," Tony said.

"Sterling was already dead. So you got her out of there and decided to take the blame for her," Tim said.

"She was protecting her brother. What if it was your sister, huh? Can you say you wouldn't have done the same?" Tony asked.

"No, I can't. But I'd still be guilty of murder and I'd still have to pay for it, just like Abby does," Tim said before standing up.

"Can you do anything for her, McGee?" Gibbs asked pleadingly. He did realize that Abby had to face the consequences of her actions, but he was hoping there was some way for her to still have some kind of future.

"Honestly, Gibbs, after the crap she's put everyone through, I'm not that inclined to," Tim said before walking out of the room.


	21. Chapter 21

Tim walked into the interrogation room Abby was in and sat down across from her.

"I still don't have anything to say," Abby said.

"That's fine. I don't need you to say anything. I have everything I need. Tony gave you up," Tim said.

Abby rolled her eyes at him. "You really think I'm going to fall for that, McGee. I've seen Gibbs and Tony use that one a thousand times. That's why Gibbs has the rule about not keeping suspects together. To trick them into confessing."

"True, but I'm not here from a confession. I don't need it. Tony's statement and the evidence against you is all I need," Tim said.

"I don't believe you," Abby said with her arms crossed. She refused to believe it. Tony would never double cross her like this.

"Tony told us how you came to him after Sterling started threating your brother. How you asked him to break Sterling out of prison so the threats would stop," Tim said.

"You're lying," Abby said. Yes, what McGee had just said was the truth, but he could've guessed that. He had no proof of it.

Tim ignored her and went on. "He also told us how the plan was for him to disappear for a while and come back after being Sterlng's 'prisoner'. He also said he gave you his gun so you could protect yourself."

"No! Tony would never do that!" Abby yelled. This time though, she wasn't so sure. McGee knew a lot of facts he shouldn't know without someone telling him. But Tony wouldn't really turn on her like this, would he? He wouldn't betray her like this.

"Why? Why wouldn't he do it, Abby? You don't think his life is important? You think he should just sacrifice everything for you, even his own life? A man' loyalty only goes so far," Tim said. He knew that from experience. He'd reached his limit a couple of years earlier and now so had Tony. True, he'd had help from him and Gibbs, but at least he'd finally did the right thing for himself.

Abby looked away and didn't say a world. She couldn't believe it, but it was looking more and more like Tony had indeed turned her in. He'd sold her out at the first sign of trouble.

"JAG's been called in. An attorney will be here soon enough. Now, my advice to you is to work with them. Tell them the truth about all of it and maybe you won't be looking at the rest of your life in a prison cell. Either way, you need to get yourself a lawyer. I'll have someone get you a phone to make that call," Tim said before standing up and leaving the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim walked out of the boat shed to see Callen leaning against the side. "Hey.

'Hey. JAG's on the way. How did it go? She confess?" Callen asked.

"I didn't even try to get a confession. With the evidence and Tony's statement backing it up, I didn't feel the need for it. I did advise her to work with the JAG lawyer though," Tim said.

"You okay with everything that's happened?" Callen asked.

"Okay with it, no. Will I lose sleep over it though, absolutely not. Abby and Tony chose the path they did. They have to deal with the consequences," Tim said. He wished things hadn't turned out so bad for his former teammates because despite everything, they had once been important to him, but he wasn't going to spend any more time on them than he already had.

"Good," Callen said.

"Where's Gibbs?" Tim asked.

"He left. Said he couldn't see Abby carted away for the rest of her life," Callen told him.

"Yeah, I'm not surprised. Abby was always the favorite," Tim said.

"Yeah, well, maybe if he didn't have favorites, this wouldn't have happened," Callen said.

"Probably not," Tim agreed. Abby thought she would be able to get away with killing Sterling because she thought the rules didn't apply to her, and she thought that because Gibbs taught her that. So Callen was right. This probably wouldn't have happened if Gibbs had been treated everyone who worked for him more equally.

Just then, Sam joined them. "Hey, Tim, DiNozzo would like a word. You want me to just tell him to go to hell because I wouldn't mind."

Tim chuckled. "I'm sure you wouldn't, but no thanks. I'll talk to him," Tim said before walking back inside. He walked down the hall to the interrogation room Tony was in and stepped inside. "You wanted to see me?"

Tony nodded. "What's going to happen to Abby?"

"You know about as much as I do. The courts will decide for sure, or if Abby's smart, she'll make a deal with JAG, but we both know she's going to be doing some serious prison time. I'd be more worried about myself if I were. I mean, Abby's clearly not all that worried about you," Tim said.

"I know what's going to happen to me. I can deal with that. But Abby… Prison's going to destroy her," Tony said.

"Well, if it does, she has no one but herself to blame," Tim said. He honestly couldn't bring himself to conjure up an ounce of sympathy for Abby, not after she went to such great lengths to protect herself.

Tony glared at him. "It's that easy for you, huh?"

"Yeah, it is. She killed a man, Tony, and then she tried to blame it on you. She deserves what she gets," Tim told him.

"You know, it wasn't that long ago that you would've been protecting her too," Tony pointed out.

"And it would've ruined me just as it's ruined you. Are you really happy with how things turned out? You're gonna spend the next five to ten years in prison and carry that with you even when you're released. Are you happy with that?" Tim asked.

Tony looked away. There wasn't much he could say to that. McGee was right, no matter how much he wished he wasn't.

Tim went over and sat down in front of his former colleague. "Tony, You and I have a lot of differences. I can honestly say that I've cursed your name more times than I can count over the years. But I think there's one thing we can agree on at this point. "Joining Gibbs' team was the worst thing to ever happen to us."

"Maybe," Tony whispered after a moment. He hated saying it because Gibbs had taught him so much, but again, McGee was right. If it weren't for joining Gibbs, he probably wouldn't be on his way to prison right now. He never would've considered doing what he did before joining Gibbs.

Just then there was a knock on the open door. Tim turned to see a JAG lawyer. "Hi. He's all yours," he said before standing up and heading out.

"McGee," Tony called.

Tim turned back to see what he wanted.

"Sorry," Tony said quickly. He wasn't even sure if he meant it, but he felt he had to say it. If he didn't mean it yet, he soon would though. Despite the horrible comments he'd made during this whole thing, he was slowly learning that he was wrong about McGee. It was just hard to admit that to himself.

Tim acknowledged the apology by nodded and then walked out the door and away from his former life for the last time. True, he'd thought it was over the last time he dealt with his former team, and the time before that and the time before that, but this time, he really got the feeling that it was finally truly over.

THE END


End file.
